Vox Tablethttp://www.tabletmag.com
This is Vox Tablet, the weekly podcast of Tablet Magazine, the online Jewish arts and culture magazine that used to be known as Nextbook.org. Our archive of podcasts is available on our site, tablet2015.wpengine.com. Vox Tablet, hosted by Sara Ivry, varies widely in subject matter and sound -- one week it's a conversation with novelist Michael Chabon, theater critic Alisa Solomon, or anthropologist Ruth Behar. Another week brings the listener to "the etrog man" hocking his wares at a fruit-juice stand in a Jersualem market. Or into the hotel room with poet and rock musician David Berman an hour before he and his band, Silver Jews, head over to their next gig. Recent guests include Alex Ross, Shalom Auslander, Aline K. Crumb, Howard Jacobson, and the late Norman Mailer.Fri, 22 Feb 2019 05:00:39 +0000en-UShourly1https://wordpress.org/?v=4.6.13Vox Tablet, named Best Podcast for the 2009 National Magazine Awards for Digital Media, is the weekly podcast of Tablet Magazine, the online Jewish life and culture magazine formerly known as Nextbook. Hosted by Sara Ivry, Vox Tablet brings you conversations with writers, scholars, musicians, and mobsters, as well as reports from all corners of the earth, from a cheesecake factory in the Bronx to a genocide memorial on a hilltop in Rwanda.This is Vox Tablet, the weekly podcast of Tablet Magazine, the online Jewish arts and culture magazine that used to be known as Nextbook.org. Our archive of podcasts is available on our site, tablet2015.wpengine.com. Vox Tablet, hosted by Sara Ivry, varies widely in subject matter and sound -- one week it\'s a conversation with novelist Michael Chabon, theater critic Alisa Solomon, or anthropologist Ruth Behar. Another week brings the listener to \"the etrog man\" hocking his wares at a fruit-juice stand in a Jersualem market. Or into the hotel room with poet and rock musician David Berman an hour before he and his band, Silver Jews, head over to their next gig. Recent guests include Alex Ross, Shalom Auslander, Aline K. Crumb, Howard Jacobson, and the late Norman Mailer.Tablethttp://www.tabletmag.com/images/vox-tablet-podcast.jpgVox Tablethttp://www.tabletmag.comnextbook, tablet, tablet magazine, tablet2015.wpengine.com, vox tablet, http://rss.acast.com/voxtabletnoJulie Subrinjsubrin@tablet2015.wpengine.comFor the Love of Suzie Louise: A Christmas Storyhttp://www.tabletmag.com/podcasts/196063/for-the-love-of-suzie-louise
http://www.tabletmag.com/podcasts/196063/for-the-love-of-suzie-louise#respondTue, 22 Dec 2015 05:00:55 +0000http://www.tabletmag.com/?p=196063As Christmas 1963 approaches, a statue of the baby Jesus goes missing from the town manger in Skokie, Illinois. Its theft causes great distress to nearly everyone, including 9-year-old, flaxen-haired Suzie Louise Anderson. In the hopes of becoming her hero and solidifying their love, Suzie Louise’s young boyfriend, a Jew, cobbles together a posse to […]

]]>As Christmas 1963 approaches, a statue of the baby Jesus goes missing from the town manger in Skokie, Illinois. Its theft causes great distress to nearly everyone, including 9-year-old, flaxen-haired Suzie Louise Anderson. In the hopes of becoming her hero and solidifying their love, Suzie Louise’s young boyfriend, a Jew, cobbles together a posse to try to recover the stolen figure, and to restore joy and peace to the girl’s life.

Read by Ken Marks, ‘For the Love of Suzie Louise’ is adapted from the novel My Surburban Shtetl, by Robert Rand. Sound design is by Jonathan Groubert.

]]>http://www.tabletmag.com/podcasts/196063/for-the-love-of-suzie-louise/feed0As Christmas 1963 approaches, a statue of the baby Jesus goes missing from the town manger in Skokie, Illinois. Its theft causes great distress to nearly everyone, including 9-year-old, flaxen-haired Suzie Louise Anderson. In the hopes of becoming her hero and solidifying their love, Suzie Louise’s young boyfriend, a Jew, cobbles together a posse to try to recover the stolen figure, and to restore joy and peace to the girl’s life.
Read by Ken Marks, ‘For the Love of Suzie Louise’ is adapted from the novel My Surburban Shtetl, by Robert Rand. Sound design is by Jonathan Groubert.
<p>As Christmas 1963 approaches, a statue of the baby Jesus goes missing from the town manger in Skokie, Illinois. Its theft causes great distress to nearly everyone, including 9-year-old, flaxen-haired Suzie Louise Anderson. In the hopes of [...]My Grandfather, the Secret Policemanhttp://www.tabletmag.com/podcasts/193509/grandfather-secret-policeman
http://www.tabletmag.com/podcasts/193509/grandfather-secret-policeman#respondWed, 16 Sep 2015 04:00:49 +0000http://www.tabletmag.com/?p=193509Poet and writer Rita Gabis grew up surrounded by grandparents with accents—Russian, Yiddish, Lithuanian. That makes it sound like a familiar Jewish immigrant tale, but it was far from that. While Gabis’s father came from a family of Russian Jews who immigrated to the United States well before WWII, her mother was born in Lithuania. […]

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Poet and writer Rita Gabis grew up surrounded by grandparents with accents—Russian, Yiddish, Lithuanian. That makes it sound like a familiar Jewish immigrant tale, but it was far from that. While Gabis’s father came from a family of Russian Jews who immigrated to the United States well before WWII, her mother was born in Lithuania. She and her family emigrated in the 1950s. And they were Catholic.

As a child, Gabis was vaguely aware that these two different family backgrounds were at odds with each other. It was as an adult, however, that she came to understand that the divide went much deeper, and that her mother’s father, her beloved Senelis as she called him, had been the chief of security police under the Gestapo in a Lithuanian region that was the site of two massacres—one of Jews and one of Poles.

In A Guest at the Shooter’s Banquet, Rita Gabis describes her search to understand her grandfather’s role in the war. It was a journey that took her to Lithuania, Poland, and Israel. She joins Vox Tablet host Sara Ivry to discuss what piqued her curiosity about her grandfather’s past, the conflicting messages she got as a child about her identity, and why it was important to break the silence about her grandfather’s past.

]]>http://www.tabletmag.com/podcasts/193509/grandfather-secret-policeman/feed0
Poet and writer Rita Gabis grew up surrounded by grandparents with accents—Russian, Yiddish, Lithuanian. That makes it sound like a familiar Jewish immigrant tale, but it was far from that. While Gabis’s father came from a family of Russian Jews who immigrated to the United States well before WWII, her mother was born in Lithuania. She and her family emigrated in the 1950s. And they were Catholic.
As a child, Gabis was vaguely aware that these two different family backgrounds were at odds with each other. It was as an adult, however, that she came to understand that the divide went much deeper, and that her mother’s father, her beloved Senelis as she called him, had been the chief of security police under the Gestapo in a Lithuanian region that was the site of two massacres—one of Jews and one of Poles.
In A Guest at the Shooter’s Banquet, Rita Gabis describes her search to understand her grandfather’s role in the war. It was a journey that took her to Lithuania, Poland, and Israel. She joins Vox Tablet host Sara Ivry to discuss what piqued her curiosity about her grandfather’s past, the conflicting messages she got as a child about her identity, and why it was important to break the silence about her grandfather’s past.
<p>Poet and writer Rita Gabis grew up surrounded by grandparents with accents—Russian, Yiddish, Lithuanian. That makes it sound like a familiar Jewish immigrant tale, but it was far from that. While Gabis’s father came from a family of [...]And Now for Something Completely Differenthttp://www.tabletmag.com/podcasts/192561/introducing-unorthodox
http://www.tabletmag.com/podcasts/192561/introducing-unorthodox#respondMon, 03 Aug 2015 04:00:28 +0000http://www.tabletmag.com/?p=192561First there was Vox Tablet. Then there was Israel Story. Now, we are excited to present Unorthodox, Tablet’s newest podcast and part of Slate’s Panoply network. Hosted by Tablet Editor-at-Large Mark Oppenheimer and featuring Deputy Editor Stephanie Butnick and Senior Writer Liel Leibovitz, the weekly show includes fresh, fun, and “disturbingly honest” (says Oppenheimer) discussion […]

Hosted by Tablet Editor-at-Large Mark Oppenheimer and featuring Deputy Editor Stephanie Butnick and Senior Writer Liel Leibovitz, the weekly show includes fresh, fun, and “disturbingly honest” (says Oppenheimer) discussion of the latest Jewish news and culture, plus interviews with two guests—one Jewish, the other not.

In the first episode, which you can listen to below or by subscribing to Unorthodox on iTunes, after a weighty disquisition on the place of Adam Sandler and Andy Samberg in contemporary Jewish culture, the panelists chat with New York Times best-selling author A.J. Jacobs, who discusses his latest project: hosting the world’s largest family reunion. (Our longtime listeners will remember this interview with him about the year he spent trying to follow every single rule in the Bible as closely as possible.) Then, writer and This American Life contributor Elna Baker joins the fray to talk about similarities and differences between Jews and Mormons. Baker chronicled the experience of leaving the Mormon church in her memoir, The New York Regional Mormon Singles Halloween Dance. Listen, and then let us know what you think!

]]>http://www.tabletmag.com/podcasts/192561/introducing-unorthodox/feed0First there was Vox Tablet. Then there was Israel Story. Now, we are excited to present Unorthodox, Tablet’s newest podcast and part of Slate’s Panoply network.
Hosted by Tablet Editor-at-Large Mark Oppenheimer and featuring Deputy Editor Stephanie Butnick and Senior Writer Liel Leibovitz, the weekly show includes fresh, fun, and “disturbingly honest” (says Oppenheimer) discussion of the latest Jewish news and culture, plus interviews with two guests—one Jewish, the other not.
In the first episode, which you can listen to below or by subscribing to Unorthodox on iTunes, after a weighty disquisition on the place of Adam Sandler and Andy Samberg in contemporary Jewish culture, the panelists chat with New York Times best-selling author A.J. Jacobs, who discusses his latest project: hosting the world’s largest family reunion. (Our longtime listeners will remember this interview with him about the year he spent trying to follow every single rule in the Bible as closely as possible.) Then, writer and This American Life contributor Elna Baker joins the fray to talk about similarities and differences between Jews and Mormons. Baker chronicled the experience of leaving the Mormon church in her memoir, The New York Regional Mormon Singles Halloween Dance. Listen, and then let us know what you think!
Click here to listen to more Unorthodox.
<p>First there was Vox Tablet. Then there was Israel Story. Now, we are excited to present Unorthodox, Tablet’s newest podcast and part of Slate’s Panoply network. Hosted by Tablet Editor-at-Large Mark Oppenheimer and featuring Deputy [...]How an Alabama Doctor Became a Rabbi to His Patients at a Groundbreaking AIDS Clinichttp://www.tabletmag.com/podcasts/169256/saag-aids-memoir-positive
http://www.tabletmag.com/podcasts/169256/saag-aids-memoir-positive#respondThu, 17 Apr 2014 04:00:55 +0000http://www.tabletmag.com/?p=169256Back in the early 1980s, two populations found their lives upended by the AIDS epidemic in America. There were, of course, those infected by the virus, along with everyone who cared for them. And then there were the medical professionals—researchers, doctors—desperately scrambling to figure out where the virus came from and how to interrupt its […]

Back in the early 1980s, two populations found their lives upended by the AIDS epidemic in America. There were, of course, those infected by the virus, along with everyone who cared for them. And then there were the medical professionals—researchers, doctors—desperately scrambling to figure out where the virus came from and how to interrupt its terrible progression. In 1981, Dr. Michael Saag unexpectedly found himself at the center of the latter group. At the time, Saag was just beginning a residency in internal medicine at the University of Alabama at Birmingham. By the following year, he had helped open the 1917 Clinic, a comprehensive AIDS treatment and research center at UAB.

In a new memoir called Positive: One Doctor’s Personal Encounters With Death, Life, and the U.S. Healthcare System, Saag looks back on those years—the successes, failures, and remarkable people he met along the way. He also offers a scathing critique of the U.S. healthcare system, which he sees as posing an equal or greater challenge than HIV did for those concerned with taking care of the most vulnerable people in our society. On today’s podcast, he talks with Tablet Magazine Editor Wayne Hoffman about his experiences, the lessons he learned, and the Jewish values he brought to the work.

]]>http://www.tabletmag.com/podcasts/169256/saag-aids-memoir-positive/feed0
Back in the early 1980s, two populations found their lives upended by the AIDS epidemic in America. There were, of course, those infected by the virus, along with everyone who cared for them. And then there were the medical professionals—researchers, doctors—desperately scrambling to figure out where the virus came from and how to interrupt its terrible progression. In 1981, Dr. Michael Saag unexpectedly found himself at the center of the latter group. At the time, Saag was just beginning a residency in internal medicine at the University of Alabama at Birmingham. By the following year, he had helped open the 1917 Clinic, a comprehensive AIDS treatment and research center at UAB.
In a new memoir called Positive: One Doctor’s Personal Encounters With Death, Life, and the U.S. Healthcare System, Saag looks back on those years—the successes, failures, and remarkable people he met along the way. He also offers a scathing critique of the U.S. healthcare system, which he sees as posing an equal or greater challenge than HIV did for those concerned with taking care of the most vulnerable people in our society. On today’s podcast, he talks with Tablet Magazine Editor Wayne Hoffman about his experiences, the lessons he learned, and the Jewish values he brought to the work.
<p>Back in the early 1980s, two populations found their lives upended by the AIDS epidemic in America. There were, of course, those infected by the virus, along with everyone who cared for them. And then there were the medical [...]Fyvush Finkel: A Charming Conversation With a Longtime Serious Menschhttp://www.tabletmag.com/podcasts/164388/fyvush-finkel-serious-mensch
http://www.tabletmag.com/podcasts/164388/fyvush-finkel-serious-mensch#respondMon, 03 Mar 2014 05:00:35 +0000http://www.tabletmag.com/?p=164388Editor’s note: Fyvush Finkel died on August 14, 2016, at the age of 93. This interview was recorded in 2010. Fyvush Finkel, 91 years old and still cracking wise, will take to the stage this month in a pair of Purim cabaret performances. Vox Tablet caught up with the legendary actor a few years ago, […]

]]>Editor’s note: Fyvush Finkel died on August 14, 2016, at the age of 93. This interview was recorded in 2010.

Fyvush Finkel, 91 years old and still cracking wise, will take to the stage this month in a pair of Purim cabaret performances. Vox Tablet caught up with the legendary actor a few years ago, on the occasion of a different show. To celebrate his impressive vigor, good humor, and all-around affability, we revisit that conversation.

Finkel made his stage debut more than eight decades ago, when he was 9 years old, singing “O Promise Me” at a theater in Brooklyn. Soon after, he crossed the East River to take roles in the famous Yiddish theaters of Second Ave. From there, he made his way onto Broadway and then into films by the likes of Sidney Lumet, Oliver Stone, and the Coen brothers. Finkel also had recurring roles on Picket Fences, for which he won an Emmy, and Boston Public.

In this podcast from 2010, Finkel regales Vox Tablet host Sara Ivry with stories about the early days of Yiddish theater, his expedited entry into serial television, and the mesmerizing maggid of his neighborhood shul. And he sings for her, too.

]]>http://www.tabletmag.com/podcasts/164388/fyvush-finkel-serious-mensch/feed0Editor’s note: Fyvush Finkel died on August 14, 2016, at the age of 93. This interview was recorded in 2010.
Fyvush Finkel, 91 years old and still cracking wise, will take to the stage this month in a pair of Purim cabaret performances. Vox Tablet caught up with the legendary actor a few years ago, on the occasion of a different show. To celebrate his impressive vigor, good humor, and all-around affability, we revisit that conversation.
Finkel made his stage debut more than eight decades ago, when he was 9 years old, singing “O Promise Me” at a theater in Brooklyn. Soon after, he crossed the East River to take roles in the famous Yiddish theaters of Second Ave. From there, he made his way onto Broadway and then into films by the likes of Sidney Lumet, Oliver Stone, and the Coen brothers. Finkel also had recurring roles on Picket Fences, for which he won an Emmy, and Boston Public.
In this podcast from 2010, Finkel regales Vox Tablet host Sara Ivry with stories about the early days of Yiddish theater, his expedited entry into serial television, and the mesmerizing maggid of his neighborhood shul. And he sings for her, too.
<p>Editor’s note: Fyvush Finkel died on August 14, 2016, at the age of 93. This interview was recorded in 2010. Fyvush Finkel, 91 years old and still cracking wise, will take to the stage this month in a pair of Purim cabaret performances. [...]The Show That Made the World Fall in Love With the Jews and Grow Nostalgic for Tevyehttp://www.tabletmag.com/podcasts/149492/alisa-solomon-fiddler
http://www.tabletmag.com/podcasts/149492/alisa-solomon-fiddler#respondMon, 21 Oct 2013 04:00:12 +0000http://www.tabletmag.com/?p=149492It’s fairly common nowadays to hear renditions of “Sunrise, Sunset,” for instance, or “The Sabbath Prayer,” memorable melodies from the Fiddler on the Roof, at bar mitzvahs or weddings. Songs from that musical—whose story is inspired by the work of Sholem Aleichem—have become an indelible part of our popular cultural lexicon not just in the […]

]]>It’s fairly common nowadays to hear renditions of “Sunrise, Sunset,” for instance, or “The Sabbath Prayer,” memorable melodies from the Fiddler on the Roof, at bar mitzvahs or weddings. Songs from that musical—whose story is inspired by the work of Sholem Aleichem—have become an indelible part of our popular cultural lexicon not just in the United States, but worldwide. Directed by Jerome Robbins and starring Zero Mostel, Fiddler debuted on Broadway in 1964 and quickly became a smash, resonating with Jewish audiences comfortable enough in their assimilated lives in America to be able to look fondly back at the shtetl their parents left behind. How the play got made and what its significance has been for peoples of all ethnicities and backgrounds is the subject of a new book by Columbia University professor Alisa Solomon.

Solomon joins Vox Tablet host Sara Ivry to discuss Wonder of Wonders: A Cultural History of Fiddler on the Roof. She talks about the postwar exuberance that Jews were reveling in when the curtain went up in the ’60s, the contrasting backgrounds of Robbins and Mostel (the former was deeply ambivalent about his Jewishness and named names at the HUAC hearings in the 1950s; the latter grew up Orthodox, left that world to become an artist and performer, and was a fellow traveler with the type of person Robbins exposed) and their creative tensions; and she sings a few bars from her favorite song—one that didn’t make it into the final production. [Running time: 30:21.]

]]>http://www.tabletmag.com/podcasts/149492/alisa-solomon-fiddler/feed0It’s fairly common nowadays to hear renditions of “Sunrise, Sunset,” for instance, or “The Sabbath Prayer,” memorable melodies from the Fiddler on the Roof, at bar mitzvahs or weddings. Songs from that musical—whose story is inspired by the work of Sholem Aleichem—have become an indelible part of our popular cultural lexicon not just in the United States, but worldwide. Directed by Jerome Robbins and starring Zero Mostel, Fiddler debuted on Broadway in 1964 and quickly became a smash, resonating with Jewish audiences comfortable enough in their assimilated lives in America to be able to look fondly back at the shtetl their parents left behind. How the play got made and what its significance has been for peoples of all ethnicities and backgrounds is the subject of a new book by Columbia University professor Alisa Solomon.
Solomon joins Vox Tablet host Sara Ivry to discuss Wonder of Wonders: A Cultural History of Fiddler on the Roof. She talks about the postwar exuberance that Jews were reveling in when the curtain went up in the ’60s, the contrasting backgrounds of Robbins and Mostel (the former was deeply ambivalent about his Jewishness and named names at the HUAC hearings in the 1950s; the latter grew up Orthodox, left that world to become an artist and performer, and was a fellow traveler with the type of person Robbins exposed) and their creative tensions; and she sings a few bars from her favorite song—one that didn’t make it into the final production. [Running time: 30:21.]
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<p>It’s fairly common nowadays to hear renditions of “Sunrise, Sunset,” for instance, or “The Sabbath Prayer,” memorable melodies from the Fiddler on the Roof, at bar mitzvahs or weddings. Songs from that musical—whose story is [...]Painting a Portrait of a Political, Literary and Journalistic Powerhousehttp://www.tabletmag.com/podcasts/148492/lipsky-cahan-podcast
http://www.tabletmag.com/podcasts/148492/lipsky-cahan-podcast#respondMon, 14 Oct 2013 04:00:09 +0000http://www.tabletmag.com/?p=148492For most of its first 50-plus years, the Yiddish language Jewish Daily Forward (now 116 years old) was edited by its founder, Abraham Cahan. Cahan was a Lithuanian immigrant and socialist who came to this country alone at the age of 22, in 1882. Within five years, he’d established himself as a leader of the […]

]]>For most of its first 50-plus years, the Yiddish language Jewish Daily Forward (now 116 years old) was edited by its founder, Abraham Cahan. Cahan was a Lithuanian immigrant and socialist who came to this country alone at the age of 22, in 1882. Within five years, he’d established himself as a leader of the Jewish immigrant community and as an industrious reporter with friends like the muckraker journalist Lincoln Steffins and the literary critic William Dean Howells.

How Cahan climbed the political, journalistic, and literary (he wrote the critically acclaimed novel The Rise of David Levinsky) ranks of 20th century America is the topic of The Rise of Abraham Cahan, a new biography by Seth Lipsky. In 1990, Lipsky founded the English-language Forward. He joins Vox Tablet host Sara Ivry to discuss how Cahan managed to wear the seemingly conflicting hats of political activist and newspaperman, Cahan’s love of Tolstoy, and what fearlessness he possessed when it came to feuding publicly with rivals. [Running time: 26:10.]

]]>http://www.tabletmag.com/podcasts/148492/lipsky-cahan-podcast/feed0For most of its first 50-plus years, the Yiddish language Jewish Daily Forward (now 116 years old) was edited by its founder, Abraham Cahan. Cahan was a Lithuanian immigrant and socialist who came to this country alone at the age of 22, in 1882. Within five years, he’d established himself as a leader of the Jewish immigrant community and as an industrious reporter with friends like the muckraker journalist Lincoln Steffins and the literary critic William Dean Howells.
How Cahan climbed the political, journalistic, and literary (he wrote the critically acclaimed novel The Rise of David Levinsky) ranks of 20th century America is the topic of The Rise of Abraham Cahan, a new biography by Seth Lipsky. In 1990, Lipsky founded the English-language Forward. He joins Vox Tablet host Sara Ivry to discuss how Cahan managed to wear the seemingly conflicting hats of political activist and newspaperman, Cahan’s love of Tolstoy, and what fearlessness he possessed when it came to feuding publicly with rivals. [Running time: 26:10.]
Your browser does not support the audio element.
<p>For most of its first 50-plus years, the Yiddish language Jewish Daily Forward (now 116 years old) was edited by its founder, Abraham Cahan. Cahan was a Lithuanian immigrant and socialist who came to this country alone at the age of 22, in [...]From Teen Chronicler of Yiddish Curses to Global Fame: Sholem Aleichem’s Multitudeshttp://www.tabletmag.com/podcasts/147712/dauber-sholem-aleichem-podcast
http://www.tabletmag.com/podcasts/147712/dauber-sholem-aleichem-podcast#respondMon, 07 Oct 2013 04:00:25 +0000http://www.tabletmag.com/?p=147712When people hear the name Sholem Aleichem, they very often think of Tevye the Dairyman and his Broadway showstoppers. It’s true, Sholem Aleichem wrote the stories on which Fiddler on the Roof is based, but his body of work is much broader than that. In dozens of stories, novels, newspaper articles, plays, and even poems, […]

]]>When people hear the name Sholem Aleichem, they very often think of Tevye the Dairyman and his Broadway showstoppers. It’s true, Sholem Aleichem wrote the stories on which Fiddler on the Roof is based, but his body of work is much broader than that. In dozens of stories, novels, newspaper articles, plays, and even poems, Sholem Aleichem, who was born Sholem Rabinovich, depicted the humor and despair that characterized shtetl life at a moment when it faced threats from within and without. He was also a great advocate of Yiddish, and of the Jewish people. Readers and critics considered him the “Jewish Mark Twain” and when he died from tuberculosis in 1916 at the age of 57, he left behind tens of thousands of fans in Europe and the United States.

His life was relatively short but it made a lasting mark. Sholem Aleichem is now the subject of a new biography by Jeremy Dauber, a professor of Yiddish at Columbia University. The book is called The Worlds of Sholem Aleichem and it’s the newest title from Nextbook Press. Dauber joins Vox Tablet host Sara Ivry to discuss the real-life milkman behind Tevye, how it was that Sholem Aleichem reached epic levels of adoration, and his unforgettable humorous prose. [Running time: 22:20.]

]]>http://www.tabletmag.com/podcasts/147712/dauber-sholem-aleichem-podcast/feed0When people hear the name Sholem Aleichem, they very often think of Tevye the Dairyman and his Broadway showstoppers. It’s true, Sholem Aleichem wrote the stories on which Fiddler on the Roof is based, but his body of work is much broader than that. In dozens of stories, novels, newspaper articles, plays, and even poems, Sholem Aleichem, who was born Sholem Rabinovich, depicted the humor and despair that characterized shtetl life at a moment when it faced threats from within and without. He was also a great advocate of Yiddish, and of the Jewish people. Readers and critics considered him the “Jewish Mark Twain” and when he died from tuberculosis in 1916 at the age of 57, he left behind tens of thousands of fans in Europe and the United States.
His life was relatively short but it made a lasting mark. Sholem Aleichem is now the subject of a new biography by Jeremy Dauber, a professor of Yiddish at Columbia University. The book is called The Worlds of Sholem Aleichem and it’s the newest title from Nextbook Press. Dauber joins Vox Tablet host Sara Ivry to discuss the real-life milkman behind Tevye, how it was that Sholem Aleichem reached epic levels of adoration, and his unforgettable humorous prose. [Running time: 22:20.]
Your browser does not support the audio element.
<p>When people hear the name Sholem Aleichem, they very often think of Tevye the Dairyman and his Broadway showstoppers. It’s true, Sholem Aleichem wrote the stories on which Fiddler on the Roof is based, but his body of work is much [...]Seeing the Strengths and Pitfalls of a Whole Country in the Lives of Seven Paratroopershttp://www.tabletmag.com/podcasts/146250/yossi-klein-halevi
http://www.tabletmag.com/podcasts/146250/yossi-klein-halevi#respondTue, 01 Oct 2013 04:00:20 +0000http://www.tabletmag.com/?p=146250In June of 1967, the world watched with disbelief as the young Israeli army turned a perilous threat—enemy troops gathering at its borders—into a tremendous military victory. The symbol of that victory, for many, was a photograph of soldiers standing before the Western Wall soon after the sacred site was reclaimed by Israel in the […]

]]>In June of 1967, the world watched with disbelief as the young Israeli army turned a perilous threat—enemy troops gathering at its borders—into a tremendous military victory. The symbol of that victory, for many, was a photograph of soldiers standing before the Western Wall soon after the sacred site was reclaimed by Israel in the fighting.

Those soldiers were members of the 55th Paratroopers Reserve Brigade. Most of them were in their early 20s. They included socialist kibbutzniks and religious Zionists. A surprising number of them would go on to be leaders in the movements those two groups spawned—the peace movement on the Left, and the settlement movement on the Right.

In his new book, Like Dreamers, veteran journalist Yossi Klein Halevi examines the lives of seven of these paratroopers, including a rock star, a terrorist, the founder of the Peace Now movement, and, conversely, of the Gush Emunim settler movement. In recounting their experiences, Halevi gives readers access to the complexities of Israeli society as it has evolved over the past half century.

Halevi grew up in Borough Park, Brooklyn, and was a member of the radical Jewish Defense League as a teenager. In 1982, he made aliyah and moved away from radicalism, becoming a writer and a journalist. He speaks with Vox Tablet about how Israel has grown up, easing away from the socialist and messianic dreams that so animated the country in June of 1967, and about his own evolution alongside that of his adopted country. [Running time: 33:13.]

]]>http://www.tabletmag.com/podcasts/146250/yossi-klein-halevi/feed0In June of 1967, the world watched with disbelief as the young Israeli army turned a perilous threat—enemy troops gathering at its borders—into a tremendous military victory. The symbol of that victory, for many, was a photograph of soldiers standing before the Western Wall soon after the sacred site was reclaimed by Israel in the fighting.
Those soldiers were members of the 55th Paratroopers Reserve Brigade. Most of them were in their early 20s. They included socialist kibbutzniks and religious Zionists. A surprising number of them would go on to be leaders in the movements those two groups spawned—the peace movement on the Left, and the settlement movement on the Right.
In his new book, Like Dreamers, veteran journalist Yossi Klein Halevi examines the lives of seven of these paratroopers, including a rock star, a terrorist, the founder of the Peace Now movement, and, conversely, of the Gush Emunim settler movement. In recounting their experiences, Halevi gives readers access to the complexities of Israeli society as it has evolved over the past half century.
Halevi grew up in Borough Park, Brooklyn, and was a member of the radical Jewish Defense League as a teenager. In 1982, he made aliyah and moved away from radicalism, becoming a writer and a journalist. He speaks with Vox Tablet about how Israel has grown up, easing away from the socialist and messianic dreams that so animated the country in June of 1967, and about his own evolution alongside that of his adopted country. [Running time: 33:13.]
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<p>In June of 1967, the world watched with disbelief as the young Israeli army turned a perilous threat—enemy troops gathering at its borders—into a tremendous military victory. The symbol of that victory, for many, was a photograph of [...]Amos Oz Still Dreams of Life on the Kibbutzhttp://www.tabletmag.com/podcasts/145655/amos-oz-interview
http://www.tabletmag.com/podcasts/145655/amos-oz-interview#respondMon, 23 Sep 2013 04:00:59 +0000http://www.tabletmag.com/?p=145655Amos Oz died December 28 at age 79. Here’s his 2013 Vox Tablet interview with Daniel Estrin. You can listen to it or read the transcript below. TRANSCRIPT

]]>http://www.tabletmag.com/podcasts/145655/amos-oz-interview/feed0Amos Oz died December 28 at age 79. Here’s his 2013 Vox Tablet interview with Daniel Estrin. You can listen to it or read the transcript below.
TRANSCRIPT
<p>Amos Oz died December 28 at age 79. Here’s his 2013 Vox Tablet interview with Daniel Estrin. You can listen to it or read the transcript below. TRANSCRIPT</p>
<p>The post <a rel="nofollow" [...]Alan Berliner’s Newest Cinematic Poem Reflects on a Relative With Alzheimer’shttp://www.tabletmag.com/podcasts/145044/alan-berliner-alzheimers
http://www.tabletmag.com/podcasts/145044/alan-berliner-alzheimers#respondMon, 16 Sep 2013 04:00:46 +0000http://www.tabletmag.com/?p=145044For nearly 30 years, the filmmaker Alan Berliner has made uniquely personal documentaries that mine his life and the lives of his relatives, chipping away at seemingly routine stories to find a more precise, poetic, and nuanced narrative. His films display a relentless curiosity about the people closest to him—territory fraught with pitfalls. Berliner’s 1996 […]

]]>For nearly 30 years, the filmmaker Alan Berliner has made uniquely personal documentaries that mine his life and the lives of his relatives, chipping away at seemingly routine stories to find a more precise, poetic, and nuanced narrative. His films display a relentless curiosity about the people closest to him—territory fraught with pitfalls.

Berliner’s 1996 film Nobody’s Business examined his father, a lonely, divorced, retired salesman. Throughout the documentary, we hear the senior Berliner barking his objections with “my life is nothing!” and “you’re boring the shit out of me!” But as details of his past are revealed, Berliner’s father becomes a complex, lively figure in history, while, at every turn, the audience is compelled to adjust their perception of him.

In Berliner’s newest film, First Cousin Once Removed, the filmmaker again focuses on family: in this case Edwin Honig, a relative, poet, friend, and mentor with Alzheimer’s Disease. Because of—and despite—his illness, Honig remains a surprisingly deep and thoughtful person whose views of the world color his interactions with Berliner. Sometimes, Honig is unable even to speak. The film is painful, beautiful, and, as with Berliner’s previous works, makes us consider again and again what we think of this man, and of the value of memory.

First Cousin Once Removed will have its broadcast premiere on Monday, Sept. 23, on HBO. Berliner joins Tablet arts and culture editor Matthew Fishbane to discuss how Edwin Honig viewed his loss of memory, how forgetting can sometimes be a blessing, and how Berliner understands his own work as a way to stave off a similar fate. [Running time: 27:23.]

]]>http://www.tabletmag.com/podcasts/145044/alan-berliner-alzheimers/feed0For nearly 30 years, the filmmaker Alan Berliner has made uniquely personal documentaries that mine his life and the lives of his relatives, chipping away at seemingly routine stories to find a more precise, poetic, and nuanced narrative. His films display a relentless curiosity about the people closest to him—territory fraught with pitfalls.
Berliner’s 1996 film Nobody’s Business examined his father, a lonely, divorced, retired salesman. Throughout the documentary, we hear the senior Berliner barking his objections with “my life is nothing!” and “you’re boring the shit out of me!” But as details of his past are revealed, Berliner’s father becomes a complex, lively figure in history, while, at every turn, the audience is compelled to adjust their perception of him.
In Berliner’s newest film, First Cousin Once Removed, the filmmaker again focuses on family: in this case Edwin Honig, a relative, poet, friend, and mentor with Alzheimer’s Disease. Because of—and despite—his illness, Honig remains a surprisingly deep and thoughtful person whose views of the world color his interactions with Berliner. Sometimes, Honig is unable even to speak. The film is painful, beautiful, and, as with Berliner’s previous works, makes us consider again and again what we think of this man, and of the value of memory.
First Cousin Once Removed will have its broadcast premiere on Monday, Sept. 23, on HBO. Berliner joins Tablet arts and culture editor Matthew Fishbane to discuss how Edwin Honig viewed his loss of memory, how forgetting can sometimes be a blessing, and how Berliner understands his own work as a way to stave off a similar fate. [Running time: 27:23.]
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<p>For nearly 30 years, the filmmaker Alan Berliner has made uniquely personal documentaries that mine his life and the lives of his relatives, chipping away at seemingly routine stories to find a more precise, poetic, and nuanced narrative. [...]Helène Aylon’s Journey From Rebbetzin to Internationally Acclaimed Feminist Artisthttp://www.tabletmag.com/podcasts/143575/helene-aylons-journey
http://www.tabletmag.com/podcasts/143575/helene-aylons-journey#respondMon, 09 Sep 2013 04:00:52 +0000http://www.tabletmag.com/?p=143575Helène Aylon grew up in Borough Park, Brooklyn, in a tight-knit world of Orthodox families. From early on, she was a bit of a rebel, but that didn’t stop her from following the path prescribed for her. At 18, she married a rabbi, and they had two children. Then, when she was just 25, her […]

]]>Helène Aylon grew up in Borough Park, Brooklyn, in a tight-knit world of Orthodox families. From early on, she was a bit of a rebel, but that didn’t stop her from following the path prescribed for her. At 18, she married a rabbi, and they had two children. Then, when she was just 25, her husband fell ill; she was a widow by 30.

This was in 1960. The assumption then was that a woman in her position would marry her husband’s brother. Instead, Aylon became an artist. Her work, as she explains in a memoir published last year and titled Whatever Is Contained Must Be Released: My Jewish Orthodox Girlhood, My Life as a Feminist Artist, engaged with the liberation movements of her time—women from patriarchy, the colonized from colonizer, the earth from nuclear devastation—until she tackled the ultimate liberation: that of God from man. Now, at 82, Aylon looks back at a remarkable career. Her work has been shown at the Whitney Museum in New York, the Hammer Museum in Los Angeles, and throughout the world. In fact, there’s something of an Aylon revival right now; her work is on view at the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, as part of the group show called “Beyond Belief: 100 Years of the Spiritual in Modern Art,” and she’s included in “The Seventh Day: Revisiting Shabbat,” at Hebrew Union College in New York. She’s also giving readings from her memoir this fall, at the Jewish Museum in New York and elsewhere.

This past spring, Julie Burstein visited Aylon at her loft in lower Manhattan to talk about her Orthodox upbringing, her evolution as a feminist artist, and her enduring (if sometimes fraught) relationship with her mother, who died in 1998 at the age of 100. Burstein is an independent radio producer and the author of Spark: How Creativity Works. [Running time: 19:35.]

]]>http://www.tabletmag.com/podcasts/143575/helene-aylons-journey/feed0Helène Aylon grew up in Borough Park, Brooklyn, in a tight-knit world of Orthodox families. From early on, she was a bit of a rebel, but that didn’t stop her from following the path prescribed for her. At 18, she married a rabbi, and they had two children. Then, when she was just 25, her husband fell ill; she was a widow by 30.
This was in 1960. The assumption then was that a woman in her position would marry her husband’s brother. Instead, Aylon became an artist. Her work, as she explains in a memoir published last year and titled Whatever Is Contained Must Be Released: My Jewish Orthodox Girlhood, My Life as a Feminist Artist, engaged with the liberation movements of her time—women from patriarchy, the colonized from colonizer, the earth from nuclear devastation—until she tackled the ultimate liberation: that of God from man. Now, at 82, Aylon looks back at a remarkable career. Her work has been shown at the Whitney Museum in New York, the Hammer Museum in Los Angeles, and throughout the world. In fact, there’s something of an Aylon revival right now; her work is on view at the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, as part of the group show called “Beyond Belief: 100 Years of the Spiritual in Modern Art,” and she’s included in “The Seventh Day: Revisiting Shabbat,” at Hebrew Union College in New York. She’s also giving readings from her memoir this fall, at the Jewish Museum in New York and elsewhere.
This past spring, Julie Burstein visited Aylon at her loft in lower Manhattan to talk about her Orthodox upbringing, her evolution as a feminist artist, and her enduring (if sometimes fraught) relationship with her mother, who died in 1998 at the age of 100. Burstein is an independent radio producer and the author of Spark: How Creativity Works. [Running time: 19:35.]
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<p>Helène Aylon grew up in Borough Park, Brooklyn, in a tight-knit world of Orthodox families. From early on, she was a bit of a rebel, but that didn’t stop her from following the path prescribed for her. At 18, she married a rabbi, and [...]Ancient Roman Jews Meet Wartime Partisans on a Raucous and Lush Avant-rock Albumhttp://www.tabletmag.com/podcasts/143272/kaufman-barbez-jazz-album
http://www.tabletmag.com/podcasts/143272/kaufman-barbez-jazz-album#respondTue, 03 Sep 2013 04:00:54 +0000http://www.tabletmag.com/?p=143272When guitarist and composer Dan Kaufman headed to Rome in 2009 to study the liturgical melodies of the city’s ancient Jewish community, he stumbled upon the site of a famous partisan attack against the Nazis. Bullet-marked, the building where the action took place remained as a testament to resistance. That story joined together in his […]

]]>When guitarist and composer Dan Kaufman headed to Rome in 2009 to study the liturgical melodies of the city’s ancient Jewish community, he stumbled upon the site of a famous partisan attack against the Nazis. Bullet-marked, the building where the action took place remained as a testament to resistance. That story joined together in his imagination with that of the city’s inhabitants from millennia before, inspiring him to create the new album Bella Ciao. Like previous projects Kaufman has undertaken with his band Barbez—he joined the podcast in 2007 to discuss his album inspired by the work of Paul Celan—Bella Ciao draws on poetry and uses theramin, vibraphone, and more traditional instruments to produce an invigorating mix of sound and ideas.

He joins Vox Tablet host Sara Ivry to talk about how he came upon this ancient liturgical music, dramatic chapters in the history of the Italian resistance movement, and his take on the international protest anthem “Bella Ciao.” [Running time: 20:21.]

]]>http://www.tabletmag.com/podcasts/143272/kaufman-barbez-jazz-album/feed0When guitarist and composer Dan Kaufman headed to Rome in 2009 to study the liturgical melodies of the city’s ancient Jewish community, he stumbled upon the site of a famous partisan attack against the Nazis. Bullet-marked, the building where the action took place remained as a testament to resistance. That story joined together in his imagination with that of the city’s inhabitants from millennia before, inspiring him to create the new album Bella Ciao. Like previous projects Kaufman has undertaken with his band Barbez—he joined the podcast in 2007 to discuss his album inspired by the work of Paul Celan—Bella Ciao draws on poetry and uses theramin, vibraphone, and more traditional instruments to produce an invigorating mix of sound and ideas.
He joins Vox Tablet host Sara Ivry to talk about how he came upon this ancient liturgical music, dramatic chapters in the history of the Italian resistance movement, and his take on the international protest anthem “Bella Ciao.” [Running time: 20:21.]
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<p>When guitarist and composer Dan Kaufman headed to Rome in 2009 to study the liturgical melodies of the city’s ancient Jewish community, he stumbled upon the site of a famous partisan attack against the Nazis. Bullet-marked, the building [...]A New Era of Anti-Semitism Is Here. Daniel Goldhagen Blames Globalization.http://www.tabletmag.com/podcasts/142448/globalization-daniel-goldhagen
http://www.tabletmag.com/podcasts/142448/globalization-daniel-goldhagen#respondThu, 29 Aug 2013 04:00:11 +0000http://www.tabletmag.com/?p=142448In 1996, Daniel Goldhagen unleashed a fury of controversy when he published the book Hitler’s Willing Executioners, in which he argued that the Holocaust took place not because Germans were especially obedient to authority, or because a few bad apples came into power, but because an eliminationist prejudice against Jews was woven into the very […]

]]>In 1996, Daniel Goldhagen unleashed a fury of controversy when he published the book Hitler’s Willing Executioners, in which he argued that the Holocaust took place not because Germans were especially obedient to authority, or because a few bad apples came into power, but because an eliminationist prejudice against Jews was woven into the very fabric of German culture. Germans “considered the slaughter to be just,” Goldhagen wrote. His book hit a nerve—critics called Goldhagen out for using overly broad generalizations to indict an entire country—but that criticism didn’t hurt the book’s reception; it was a phenomenal success in Germany and around the world.

Nearly 20 years later, Goldhagen has broadened his scope in a new work. The Devil That Never Dies: The Rise and Threat of Global Antisemitism offers an in-depth look at anti-Semitism around the world. He argues that it’s an almost pathological prejudice that spans centuries and cultures and therefore is a uniquely destructive force that has redoubled its strength thanks to a new age of globalization and information-sharing. Goldhagen joins Vox Tablet host Sara Ivry to discuss why anti-Semitism is distinct from other forms of prejudice, how globalization has contributed to its resurgence, and what we can do to combat this scourge. [Running time: 29:40.]

]]>http://www.tabletmag.com/podcasts/142448/globalization-daniel-goldhagen/feed0In 1996, Daniel Goldhagen unleashed a fury of controversy when he published the book Hitler’s Willing Executioners, in which he argued that the Holocaust took place not because Germans were especially obedient to authority, or because a few bad apples came into power, but because an eliminationist prejudice against Jews was woven into the very fabric of German culture. Germans “considered the slaughter to be just,” Goldhagen wrote. His book hit a nerve—critics called Goldhagen out for using overly broad generalizations to indict an entire country—but that criticism didn’t hurt the book’s reception; it was a phenomenal success in Germany and around the world.
Nearly 20 years later, Goldhagen has broadened his scope in a new work. The Devil That Never Dies: The Rise and Threat of Global Antisemitism offers an in-depth look at anti-Semitism around the world. He argues that it’s an almost pathological prejudice that spans centuries and cultures and therefore is a uniquely destructive force that has redoubled its strength thanks to a new age of globalization and information-sharing. Goldhagen joins Vox Tablet host Sara Ivry to discuss why anti-Semitism is distinct from other forms of prejudice, how globalization has contributed to its resurgence, and what we can do to combat this scourge. [Running time: 29:40.]
Your browser does not support the audio element.
<p>In 1996, Daniel Goldhagen unleashed a fury of controversy when he published the book Hitler’s Willing Executioners, in which he argued that the Holocaust took place not because Germans were especially obedient to authority, or because a [...]Drinking in Jerusalem: A Love Story. No, a Tragedy. No, an Adventure.http://www.tabletmag.com/podcasts/140701/drinking-in-jerusalem
http://www.tabletmag.com/podcasts/140701/drinking-in-jerusalem#respondMon, 12 Aug 2013 04:00:16 +0000http://www.tabletmag.com/?p=140701The dog days of August are upon us and with them, a marked slowdown in productivity. Nobody answers our calls, hardly anyone responds to emails, and those of us in the office find ourselves fantasizing about drinking icy beverages in faraway locales. Which got us wondering: What are people in Jerusalem drinking these days? Has […]

]]>The dog days of August are upon us and with them, a marked slowdown in productivity. Nobody answers our calls, hardly anyone responds to emails, and those of us in the office find ourselves fantasizing about drinking icy beverages in faraway locales. Which got us wondering: What are people in Jerusalem drinking these days? Has the Holy City picked up on the craft cocktail movement currently holding sway throughout the Diaspora? And what drink best captures the life and spirit of the city?

We sent Daniel Estrin to investigate. Happy to oblige, he criss-crossed the city, making stops at three bars—HaSadna in Talpiot, the American Colony in East Jerusalem, and Shuka in Mahane Yehuda—to find out what special drinks the bartenders are serving this season and who’s drinking them. Along the way, he met some great characters, sipped some delicious concoctions (recipes included), and—yes—got drunk. [Running time: 17:43.]

]]>http://www.tabletmag.com/podcasts/140701/drinking-in-jerusalem/feed0The dog days of August are upon us and with them, a marked slowdown in productivity. Nobody answers our calls, hardly anyone responds to emails, and those of us in the office find ourselves fantasizing about drinking icy beverages in faraway locales. Which got us wondering: What are people in Jerusalem drinking these days? Has the Holy City picked up on the craft cocktail movement currently holding sway throughout the Diaspora? And what drink best captures the life and spirit of the city?
We sent Daniel Estrin to investigate. Happy to oblige, he criss-crossed the city, making stops at three bars—HaSadna in Talpiot, the American Colony in East Jerusalem, and Shuka in Mahane Yehuda—to find out what special drinks the bartenders are serving this season and who’s drinking them. Along the way, he met some great characters, sipped some delicious concoctions (recipes included), and—yes—got drunk. [Running time: 17:43.]
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<p>The dog days of August are upon us and with them, a marked slowdown in productivity. Nobody answers our calls, hardly anyone responds to emails, and those of us in the office find ourselves fantasizing about drinking icy beverages in [...]A Hasidic Alt-Rock Girl Band Gets Its Groove On—In Crown Heightshttp://www.tabletmag.com/podcasts/139760/hasidic-alt-rock-girl-band
http://www.tabletmag.com/podcasts/139760/hasidic-alt-rock-girl-band#respondMon, 05 Aug 2013 04:00:00 +0000http://www.tabletmag.com/?p=139760In 2011, adventure-seeking rock drummer-turned-Hasidic mother of four Dalia Shusterman became a widow. At about the same time, Perl Wolfe, born and raised in the Lubavitch sect of Hasidism, married and divorced, was living with her parents and beginning to write her own music. A few months later, the two women would meet in Crown […]

]]>In 2011, adventure-seeking rock drummer-turned-Hasidic mother of four Dalia Shusterman became a widow. At about the same time, Perl Wolfe, born and raised in the Lubavitch sect of Hasidism, married and divorced, was living with her parents and beginning to write her own music. A few months later, the two women would meet in Crown Heights, Brooklyn, and soon after that, begin recording their first EP, titled “Down to the Top.”

Their band name, Bulletproof Stockings—a somewhat derogatory term used to refer to the opaque stockings worn by some Orthodox women—hints at their insider status as Hasidic women, and also at a kind of freedom or irreverence they bring to their enterprise.

Bulletproof Stockings, which also includes cellist Elisheva Maistser, performs for women only, in keeping with kol isha, the prohibition on men hearing women sing that is adhered to among Orthodox Jews. They also dress modestly, as is customary in the Lubavitch community to which they belong. But when playing music, they are not contained. They can be loud and raucous and sooner find common ground with the likes of Jane’s Addiction or the Throwing Muses than with Keren Ann. For that, they’ve attracted attention well beyond their Crown Heights enclave.

Here they talk with Vox Tablet’s Sara Ivry about their musical backgrounds, about ways their faith gets expressed in their music, and about why it’s so important for women to have opportunities to rock out without any guys around. [Running time: 24:46.]

]]>http://www.tabletmag.com/podcasts/139760/hasidic-alt-rock-girl-band/feed0In 2011, adventure-seeking rock drummer-turned-Hasidic mother of four Dalia Shusterman became a widow. At about the same time, Perl Wolfe, born and raised in the Lubavitch sect of Hasidism, married and divorced, was living with her parents and beginning to write her own music. A few months later, the two women would meet in Crown Heights, Brooklyn, and soon after that, begin recording their first EP, titled “Down to the Top.”
Their band name, Bulletproof Stockings—a somewhat derogatory term used to refer to the opaque stockings worn by some Orthodox women—hints at their insider status as Hasidic women, and also at a kind of freedom or irreverence they bring to their enterprise.
Bulletproof Stockings, which also includes cellist Elisheva Maistser, performs for women only, in keeping with kol isha, the prohibition on men hearing women sing that is adhered to among Orthodox Jews. They also dress modestly, as is customary in the Lubavitch community to which they belong. But when playing music, they are not contained. They can be loud and raucous and sooner find common ground with the likes of Jane’s Addiction or the Throwing Muses than with Keren Ann. For that, they’ve attracted attention well beyond their Crown Heights enclave.
Here they talk with Vox Tablet’s Sara Ivry about their musical backgrounds, about ways their faith gets expressed in their music, and about why it’s so important for women to have opportunities to rock out without any guys around. [Running time: 24:46.]
Your browser does not support the audio element.
<p>In 2011, adventure-seeking rock drummer-turned-Hasidic mother of four Dalia Shusterman became a widow. At about the same time, Perl Wolfe, born and raised in the Lubavitch sect of Hasidism, married and divorced, was living with her parents [...]In ‘The Store,’ the Arrival of a Second-Hand Shop Unhinges an Israeli Villagehttp://www.tabletmag.com/podcasts/139195/david-ehrlich-fiction-haskell
http://www.tabletmag.com/podcasts/139195/david-ehrlich-fiction-haskell#respondMon, 29 Jul 2013 04:00:22 +0000http://www.tabletmag.com/?p=139195David Ehrlich is best known as the founder of Tmol Shilshom, a bookstore café in the heart of Jerusalem that has long been a popular gathering place for writers and artists. It’s named after the novel by S. Y. Agnon and has hosted readings by the leading lights of Israeli literature, from Yehuda Amichai to […]

]]>David Ehrlich is best known as the founder of Tmol Shilshom, a bookstore café in the heart of Jerusalem that has long been a popular gathering place for writers and artists. It’s named after the novel by S. Y. Agnon and has hosted readings by the leading lights of Israeli literature, from Yehuda Amichai to David Grossman, as well as renowned writers from abroad.

Ehrlich is himself a writer, primarily of essays and short stories. Now Syracuse University Press has published Who Will Die Last: Stories of Life in Israel, the first collection of his stories to be translated into English. In today’s podcast, we invited Brooklyn novelist and performer John Haskell to read Ehrlich’s “The Store,” an eerily calm accounting of a horrific chapter in the life of an insular Israeli village. “The Store” was first published in English by Whereabouts Press, in a collection titled Israel: A Traveler’s Literary Companion. [Running time: 15:13.]

]]>http://www.tabletmag.com/podcasts/139195/david-ehrlich-fiction-haskell/feed0David Ehrlich is best known as the founder of Tmol Shilshom, a bookstore café in the heart of Jerusalem that has long been a popular gathering place for writers and artists. It’s named after the novel by S. Y. Agnon and has hosted readings by the leading lights of Israeli literature, from Yehuda Amichai to David Grossman, as well as renowned writers from abroad.
Ehrlich is himself a writer, primarily of essays and short stories. Now Syracuse University Press has published Who Will Die Last: Stories of Life in Israel, the first collection of his stories to be translated into English. In today’s podcast, we invited Brooklyn novelist and performer John Haskell to read Ehrlich’s “The Store,” an eerily calm accounting of a horrific chapter in the life of an insular Israeli village. “The Store” was first published in English by Whereabouts Press, in a collection titled Israel: A Traveler’s Literary Companion. [Running time: 15:13.]
Your browser does not support the audio element.
<p>David Ehrlich is best known as the founder of Tmol Shilshom, a bookstore café in the heart of Jerusalem that has long been a popular gathering place for writers and artists. It’s named after the novel by S. Y. Agnon and has hosted [...]The Children of Refuseniks Report From the Frontlines of Putin’s Russiahttp://www.tabletmag.com/podcasts/138356/the-children-of-refuseniks-report-from-the-frontlines-of-putin%e2%80%99s-russia
http://www.tabletmag.com/podcasts/138356/the-children-of-refuseniks-report-from-the-frontlines-of-putin%e2%80%99s-russia#respondFri, 19 Jul 2013 04:00:55 +0000http://www.tabletmag.com/?p=138356Yesterday’s sentencing of Russia’s most prominent opposition leader, Alexei Navalny, was just the latest in a steady stream of blows to the democracy that President Vladimir Putin has ruled with near-dictatorial authority for more than a decade. Navalny, an anticorruption activist, was given a 5-year prison sentence for what most observers say are trumped up […]

]]>Yesterday’s sentencing of Russia’s most prominent opposition leader, Alexei Navalny, was just the latest in a steady stream of blows to the democracy that President Vladimir Putin has ruled with near-dictatorial authority for more than a decade. Navalny, an anticorruption activist, was given a 5-year prison sentence for what most observers say are trumped up charges of embezzlement.

If you know anything about Navalny, or about Pussy Riot, or about new laws in Russia that erode freedom of speech, punish gays and lesbians, and intimidate nongovernmental organizations, there’s a good chance you’ve read the work of Masha Gessen, Miriam Elder, or Michael Idov.

Gessen is the author of, most recently, The Man Without a Face: The Unlikely Rise of Vladimir Putin (as well as an upcoming book for Tablet’s sister organization’s Jewish Encounters series), and a regular contributor to the New York Times. Elder is on her last days as Moscow bureau chief for the Guardian (she is moving to Buzzfeed later this month, where she’ll be the site’s foreign editor). Idov is editor in chief of Russia GQ. All three are children of Soviet refuseniks and have dedicated the past few years (or, in Gessen’s case, the past two decades) of their journalistic careers to understanding what’s happening in Russia and to making that place comprehensible to the rest of us. Reporters of similar backgrounds have come before them (New Yorker and Tablet Magazine contributor Julia Ioffe among them), but they are the few holdouts. As the picture from there turns grimmer, and in light of their parents’ experiences, one has to wonder how much longer they’ll stick around.

In today’s Vox Tablet, contributor Julia Barton speaks to each of them about why they’ve chosen to live and work in the place from which their parents fled, what they want their readers to understand about life and politics in Russia, and what sort of future they see there, for themselves and for the country. [Running time: 14:00.]

]]>http://www.tabletmag.com/podcasts/138356/the-children-of-refuseniks-report-from-the-frontlines-of-putin%e2%80%99s-russia/feed0Yesterday’s sentencing of Russia’s most prominent opposition leader, Alexei Navalny, was just the latest in a steady stream of blows to the democracy that President Vladimir Putin has ruled with near-dictatorial authority for more than a decade. Navalny, an anticorruption activist, was given a 5-year prison sentence for what most observers say are trumped up charges of embezzlement.
If you know anything about Navalny, or about Pussy Riot, or about new laws in Russia that erode freedom of speech, punish gays and lesbians, and intimidate nongovernmental organizations, there’s a good chance you’ve read the work of Masha Gessen, Miriam Elder, or Michael Idov.
Gessen is the author of, most recently, The Man Without a Face: The Unlikely Rise of Vladimir Putin (as well as an upcoming book for Tablet’s sister organization’s Jewish Encounters series), and a regular contributor to the New York Times. Elder is on her last days as Moscow bureau chief for the Guardian (she is moving to Buzzfeed later this month, where she’ll be the site’s foreign editor). Idov is editor in chief of Russia GQ. All three are children of Soviet refuseniks and have dedicated the past few years (or, in Gessen’s case, the past two decades) of their journalistic careers to understanding what’s happening in Russia and to making that place comprehensible to the rest of us. Reporters of similar backgrounds have come before them (New Yorker and Tablet Magazine contributor Julia Ioffe among them), but they are the few holdouts. As the picture from there turns grimmer, and in light of their parents’ experiences, one has to wonder how much longer they’ll stick around.
In today’s Vox Tablet, contributor Julia Barton speaks to each of them about why they’ve chosen to live and work in the place from which their parents fled, what they want their readers to understand about life and politics in Russia, and what sort of future they see there, for themselves and for the country. [Running time: 14:00.]
Your browser does not support the audio element.
<p>Yesterday’s sentencing of Russia’s most prominent opposition leader, Alexei Navalny, was just the latest in a steady stream of blows to the democracy that President Vladimir Putin has ruled with near-dictatorial authority for more than [...]The Dreyfus Affair Holds a Sacred Place in French History. Is There Room for Debate?http://www.tabletmag.com/podcasts/137455/dreyfus-affair-podcast
http://www.tabletmag.com/podcasts/137455/dreyfus-affair-podcast#respondThu, 11 Jul 2013 04:00:39 +0000http://www.tabletmag.com/?p=137455Nearly 120 years after the Dreyfus Affair shook the world, you would think we know all there is to know about the seminal case involving a French Jewish officer falsely accused of treason. Alfred Dreyfus was found guilty and deported to prison on a small, remote island, and it was only after his family, joined […]

]]>Nearly 120 years after the Dreyfus Affair shook the world, you would think we know all there is to know about the seminal case involving a French Jewish officer falsely accused of treason. Alfred Dreyfus was found guilty and deported to prison on a small, remote island, and it was only after his family, joined by leading intellectuals of the time, rallied in protest that he was acquitted, his case becoming a cornerstone of the democratic French republic.

A flood of books on the topic followed, from Emile Zola’s J’Accuse onward. Yet French historians showed remarkably little interest when, a few years ago, the French army made available parts of its archive that include the notorious secret dossier that had been used to indict the Jewish captain. The file sheds light not only on the case itself but also on the complex web of personalities, institutions, and societal attitudes that surrounded it.

All these details might have remained in the shadows were it not for the dogged work of French historian Pierre Gervais. Gervais is the co-author of a recent book, available in French only, about the secret file. On today’s podcast, from his apartment in Paris, Gervais speaks with Tablet Magazine’s Liel Leibovitz about his discoveries. Leibovitz has also written a book on these latest revelations about the Dreyfus Affair; it’s just out as an Amazon Kindle Single published by Tablet Magazine. [Running time: 19:50.]

]]>http://www.tabletmag.com/podcasts/137455/dreyfus-affair-podcast/feed0Nearly 120 years after the Dreyfus Affair shook the world, you would think we know all there is to know about the seminal case involving a French Jewish officer falsely accused of treason. Alfred Dreyfus was found guilty and deported to prison on a small, remote island, and it was only after his family, joined by leading intellectuals of the time, rallied in protest that he was acquitted, his case becoming a cornerstone of the democratic French republic.
A flood of books on the topic followed, from Emile Zola’s J’Accuse onward. Yet French historians showed remarkably little interest when, a few years ago, the French army made available parts of its archive that include the notorious secret dossier that had been used to indict the Jewish captain. The file sheds light not only on the case itself but also on the complex web of personalities, institutions, and societal attitudes that surrounded it.
All these details might have remained in the shadows were it not for the dogged work of French historian Pierre Gervais. Gervais is the co-author of a recent book, available in French only, about the secret file. On today’s podcast, from his apartment in Paris, Gervais speaks with Tablet Magazine’s Liel Leibovitz about his discoveries. Leibovitz has also written a book on these latest revelations about the Dreyfus Affair; it’s just out as an Amazon Kindle Single published by Tablet Magazine. [Running time: 19:50.]
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<p>Nearly 120 years after the Dreyfus Affair shook the world, you would think we know all there is to know about the seminal case involving a French Jewish officer falsely accused of treason. Alfred Dreyfus was found guilty and deported to [...]What Spinoza Knew and Neuroscience Is Discovering: ‘Free Will’ Doesn’t Existhttp://www.tabletmag.com/podcasts/136523/what-spinoza-knew
http://www.tabletmag.com/podcasts/136523/what-spinoza-knew#respondMon, 01 Jul 2013 04:00:04 +0000http://www.tabletmag.com/?p=136523Questions of character shape public discourse. From Paula Deen to Edward Snowden—the choices people make and actions people take raise questions about free will, personal responsibility, and morality. And yet, researchers in sociology, psychology, and neuroscience are increasingly asserting that the independent self that we are all so attached to doesn’t really exist. What’s more, […]

]]>Questions of character shape public discourse. From Paula Deen to Edward Snowden—the choices people make and actions people take raise questions about free will, personal responsibility, and morality. And yet, researchers in sociology, psychology, and neuroscience are increasingly asserting that the independent self that we are all so attached to doesn’t really exist. What’s more, there are philosophical traditions dating back to Aristotle, Maimonides, and Spinoza that may offer more useful ways of thinking about how to foster ethical behavior and moral societies.

In The Self Beyond Itself: An Alternative History of Ethics, the New Brain Sciences, and the Myth of Free Will, Heidi Ravven, a professor of religious studies at Hamilton College, examines these questions. She joins Vox Tablet host Sara Ivry on the podcast to discuss how the myth of free will took hold, what Spinoza had to say about it, and why if you want to be a moral person, the last thing you should do is surround yourself with like-minded people. [Running time: 24:52.]

]]>http://www.tabletmag.com/podcasts/136523/what-spinoza-knew/feed0Questions of character shape public discourse. From Paula Deen to Edward Snowden—the choices people make and actions people take raise questions about free will, personal responsibility, and morality. And yet, researchers in sociology, psychology, and neuroscience are increasingly asserting that the independent self that we are all so attached to doesn’t really exist. What’s more, there are philosophical traditions dating back to Aristotle, Maimonides, and Spinoza that may offer more useful ways of thinking about how to foster ethical behavior and moral societies.
In The Self Beyond Itself: An Alternative History of Ethics, the New Brain Sciences, and the Myth of Free Will, Heidi Ravven, a professor of religious studies at Hamilton College, examines these questions. She joins Vox Tablet host Sara Ivry on the podcast to discuss how the myth of free will took hold, what Spinoza had to say about it, and why if you want to be a moral person, the last thing you should do is surround yourself with like-minded people. [Running time: 24:52.]
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<p>Questions of character shape public discourse. From Paula Deen to Edward Snowden—the choices people make and actions people take raise questions about free will, personal responsibility, and morality. And yet, researchers in sociology, [...]In an Ex-Pat’s Literary Crime Novel, Norwegian and Jewish-American Sensibilities Collidehttp://www.tabletmag.com/podcasts/135732/derek-miller-crime-novel
http://www.tabletmag.com/podcasts/135732/derek-miller-crime-novel#commentsMon, 24 Jun 2013 04:00:31 +0000http://www.tabletmag.com/?p=135732Sheldon Horowitz is a retired watch repairman and wise-cracker from New York City and a Korean War veteran relocated to Oslo, where he lives with his granddaughter and her Norwegian husband. In mourning over the recent death of his wife, Sheldon is in near constant anguish too over the loss years before of his only […]

]]>Sheldon Horowitz is a retired watch repairman and wise-cracker from New York City and a Korean War veteran relocated to Oslo, where he lives with his granddaughter and her Norwegian husband. In mourning over the recent death of his wife, Sheldon is in near constant anguish too over the loss years before of his only son—killed in Vietnam. That loss causes him to question continually the virtue of the patriotism and sense of civic responsibility that defined him and that he imparted to his child. When his Serbian immigrant neighbor is killed, Sheldon is forced to confront what is going on around him in the present and takes it upon himself to ferry his neighbor’s young child to safety. But what safety is and how to get there is unclear.

Derek B. Miller’s debut novel Norwegian by Night is a literary thriller that explores grief, memory, aging, and identity as it follows Horowitz and the boy from Oslo to the countryside. Though heady, the novel is also funny, laced with sardonic wit. Based in Oslo, where he directs the Policy Lab and works as a specialist in international affairs, Miller speaks with Vox Tablet host Sara Ivry about his affection for Sheldon and the “greatest generation,” about Norway’s small Jewish population, and about why his crime novel is not really, or only, a crime novel. [Running time: 19:42.]

]]>http://www.tabletmag.com/podcasts/135732/derek-miller-crime-novel/feed2Sheldon Horowitz is a retired watch repairman and wise-cracker from New York City and a Korean War veteran relocated to Oslo, where he lives with his granddaughter and her Norwegian husband. In mourning over the recent death of his wife, Sheldon is in near constant anguish too over the loss years before of his only son—killed in Vietnam. That loss causes him to question continually the virtue of the patriotism and sense of civic responsibility that defined him and that he imparted to his child. When his Serbian immigrant neighbor is killed, Sheldon is forced to confront what is going on around him in the present and takes it upon himself to ferry his neighbor’s young child to safety. But what safety is and how to get there is unclear.
Derek B. Miller’s debut novel Norwegian by Night is a literary thriller that explores grief, memory, aging, and identity as it follows Horowitz and the boy from Oslo to the countryside. Though heady, the novel is also funny, laced with sardonic wit. Based in Oslo, where he directs the Policy Lab and works as a specialist in international affairs, Miller speaks with Vox Tablet host Sara Ivry about his affection for Sheldon and the “greatest generation,” about Norway’s small Jewish population, and about why his crime novel is not really, or only, a crime novel. [Running time: 19:42.]
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<p>Sheldon Horowitz is a retired watch repairman and wise-cracker from New York City and a Korean War veteran relocated to Oslo, where he lives with his granddaughter and her Norwegian husband. In mourning over the recent death of his wife, [...]Jewish Comedy Has Earned Big Praise, But Is It Time to Stop the Joke-Telling?http://www.tabletmag.com/podcasts/135066/ruth-wisse-jokes
http://www.tabletmag.com/podcasts/135066/ruth-wisse-jokes#commentsMon, 17 Jun 2013 04:00:47 +0000http://www.tabletmag.com/?p=135066What are the three words a woman never wants to hear when she’s making love? Honey, I’m home. Whether their circumstances are happy or fraught, Jews have been pointing out the humor in their predicaments since the biblical era, when Sarah the matriarch saw the fact that she’d bear a child at her advanced age […]

]]>What are the three words a woman never wants to hear when she’s making love? Honey, I’m home. Whether their circumstances are happy or fraught, Jews have been pointing out the humor in their predicaments since the biblical era, when Sarah the matriarch saw the fact that she’d bear a child at her advanced age as a cruel joke. But it was only since the Enlightenment that, as a people, the Jews became known as a witty lot—reveling in word play, contradiction, and self-deprecation. Yiddish scholar Ruth Wisse loves a good punchline (and, with her grandmotherly comportment, has perfected the straight-man delivery) but rejects the idea that Jewish humor is a uniform thing and, furthermore, that it’s something of which to be proud.

In No Joke: Making Jewish Humor, Wisse considers the variations of humor from Heinrich Heine to YouTube. She joins Vox Tablet host Sara Ivry to share some gallows humor, to compare the jokes of the Haskalah to those told in yeshivas, and to argue that engaging in humor that distracts us from suffering, rather than confronting it, is not worth the laughs. [Running time: 32:16.]

]]>http://www.tabletmag.com/podcasts/135066/ruth-wisse-jokes/feed14What are the three words a woman never wants to hear when she’s making love? Honey, I’m home. Whether their circumstances are happy or fraught, Jews have been pointing out the humor in their predicaments since the biblical era, when Sarah the matriarch saw the fact that she’d bear a child at her advanced age as a cruel joke. But it was only since the Enlightenment that, as a people, the Jews became known as a witty lot—reveling in word play, contradiction, and self-deprecation. Yiddish scholar Ruth Wisse loves a good punchline (and, with her grandmotherly comportment, has perfected the straight-man delivery) but rejects the idea that Jewish humor is a uniform thing and, furthermore, that it’s something of which to be proud.
In No Joke: Making Jewish Humor, Wisse considers the variations of humor from Heinrich Heine to YouTube. She joins Vox Tablet host Sara Ivry to share some gallows humor, to compare the jokes of the Haskalah to those told in yeshivas, and to argue that engaging in humor that distracts us from suffering, rather than confronting it, is not worth the laughs. [Running time: 32:16.]
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<p>What are the three words a woman never wants to hear when she’s making love? Honey, I’m home. Whether their circumstances are happy or fraught, Jews have been pointing out the humor in their predicaments since the biblical era, when [...]A New Novel Brings Ghosts, Geeks, and Golems to Sleepover Camphttp://www.tabletmag.com/podcasts/134257/ghosts-geeks-golems-at-camp
http://www.tabletmag.com/podcasts/134257/ghosts-geeks-golems-at-camp#respondMon, 10 Jun 2013 04:00:22 +0000http://www.tabletmag.com/?p=134257In his debut novel, The Path of Names, Vancouver-based writer Ari Goelman conjures Dahlia, an intrepid 13-year-old who we meet as she begrudgingly attends her first summer at Camp Arava, the Jewish overnight camp where her brother is a beloved counselor. Ever interested in figuring out sleights of hand, she’d rather spend her time learning […]

]]>In his debut novel, The Path of Names, Vancouver-based writer Ari Goelman conjures Dahlia, an intrepid 13-year-old who we meet as she begrudgingly attends her first summer at Camp Arava, the Jewish overnight camp where her brother is a beloved counselor. Ever interested in figuring out sleights of hand, she’d rather spend her time learning magic. Then strange things start to happen. Dahlia spots two apparitions—little girls dressed for the 1940s who beckon to her in her bunk. Suddenly she has memories and dreams of yeshiva life and understands Hebrew words she has never before known. Unruffled by the increasingly intense fantastical phenomena around her, Dahlia forges on, keen to figure out what’s happening to her and to the sweet ghosts who keep reappearing.

Ari Goelman talks with Vox Tablet host Sara Ivry about the fantasy novels that accompanied his childhood, how he came up with the idea for Dahlia and her story, and why he set the action at a Jewish overnight camp. Joining the conversation is Josie Ingall, herself a lover of fantasy fiction, who, at 11 years old, fits right in to Goelman’s target demographic and has some questions of her own to put to the author. (Josie is also the daughter of Tablet Magazine columnist Marjorie Ingall.)

Though the school year is ending, there’s no reason for you or your child to stop reading! Enter our sweepstakes to be one of 10 lucky people selected at random to win a copy of The Path of Names. [Running time: 12:44.]

]]>http://www.tabletmag.com/podcasts/134257/ghosts-geeks-golems-at-camp/feed0In his debut novel, The Path of Names, Vancouver-based writer Ari Goelman conjures Dahlia, an intrepid 13-year-old who we meet as she begrudgingly attends her first summer at Camp Arava, the Jewish overnight camp where her brother is a beloved counselor. Ever interested in figuring out sleights of hand, she’d rather spend her time learning magic. Then strange things start to happen. Dahlia spots two apparitions—little girls dressed for the 1940s who beckon to her in her bunk. Suddenly she has memories and dreams of yeshiva life and understands Hebrew words she has never before known. Unruffled by the increasingly intense fantastical phenomena around her, Dahlia forges on, keen to figure out what’s happening to her and to the sweet ghosts who keep reappearing.
Ari Goelman talks with Vox Tablet host Sara Ivry about the fantasy novels that accompanied his childhood, how he came up with the idea for Dahlia and her story, and why he set the action at a Jewish overnight camp. Joining the conversation is Josie Ingall, herself a lover of fantasy fiction, who, at 11 years old, fits right in to Goelman’s target demographic and has some questions of her own to put to the author. (Josie is also the daughter of Tablet Magazine columnist Marjorie Ingall.)
Though the school year is ending, there’s no reason for you or your child to stop reading! Enter our sweepstakes to be one of 10 lucky people selected at random to win a copy of The Path of Names. [Running time: 12:44.]
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<p>In his debut novel, The Path of Names, Vancouver-based writer Ari Goelman conjures Dahlia, an intrepid 13-year-old who we meet as she begrudgingly attends her first summer at Camp Arava, the Jewish overnight camp where her brother is a [...]Examining Life After a Crashhttp://www.tabletmag.com/podcasts/133504/examining-life-after-a-crash
http://www.tabletmag.com/podcasts/133504/examining-life-after-a-crash#commentsMon, 03 Jun 2013 04:00:01 +0000http://www.tabletmag.com/?p=133504Joshua Prager is a reporter best known for tracking down elusive characters whose lives were altered in an instant—people like Tehran-based photographer Jahangir Razmi, the only anonymous winner of a Pulitzer Prize, and Albert Clark, who was unexpectedly bequeathed the royalties of the wildly popular children’s books Goodnight, Moon, Runaway Bunny, and other titles by […]

]]>Joshua Prager is a reporter best known for tracking down elusive characters whose lives were altered in an instant—people like Tehran-based photographer Jahangir Razmi, the only anonymous winner of a Pulitzer Prize, and Albert Clark, who was unexpectedly bequeathed the royalties of the wildly popular children’s books Goodnight, Moon, Runaway Bunny, and other titles by Margaret Wise Brown. Now Prager has written Half-Life, the story of how his own life changed in an instant. When he was 19 and spending the year studying at a yeshiva in Israel, he was a passenger on a minibus headed to Jerusalem that was struck by a speeding truck. Prager’s neck was broken, and he nearly died.

Vox Tablet host Sara Ivry talks with Prager about how the accident altered the course he’d thought his life would follow, how his disability makes people trust him and confide long-held secrets, and about his belief that physical injury, even one as devastating as his, is easier to overcome than the invisible suffering most people carry around within them. [Running time: 29:01.]

]]>http://www.tabletmag.com/podcasts/133504/examining-life-after-a-crash/feed4Joshua Prager is a reporter best known for tracking down elusive characters whose lives were altered in an instant—people like Tehran-based photographer Jahangir Razmi, the only anonymous winner of a Pulitzer Prize, and Albert Clark, who was unexpectedly bequeathed the royalties of the wildly popular children’s books Goodnight, Moon, Runaway Bunny, and other titles by Margaret Wise Brown. Now Prager has written Half-Life, the story of how his own life changed in an instant. When he was 19 and spending the year studying at a yeshiva in Israel, he was a passenger on a minibus headed to Jerusalem that was struck by a speeding truck. Prager’s neck was broken, and he nearly died.
Vox Tablet host Sara Ivry talks with Prager about how the accident altered the course he’d thought his life would follow, how his disability makes people trust him and confide long-held secrets, and about his belief that physical injury, even one as devastating as his, is easier to overcome than the invisible suffering most people carry around within them. [Running time: 29:01.]
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<p>Joshua Prager is a reporter best known for tracking down elusive characters whose lives were altered in an instant—people like Tehran-based photographer Jahangir Razmi, the only anonymous winner of a Pulitzer Prize, and Albert Clark, who [...]When Berlin Meant Businesshttp://www.tabletmag.com/podcasts/132463/when-berlin-meant-business
http://www.tabletmag.com/podcasts/132463/when-berlin-meant-business#commentsMon, 20 May 2013 04:00:24 +0000http://www.tabletmag.com/?p=132463Berlin has long had an anti-capitalist bent, part of its countercultural charm. But before the war, it was a more enterprising and bustling place, due in no small part to the nearly 50,000 Jewish-owned businesses located there. What happened to those businesses under Hitler is at the core of meticulous research by Humboldt University historian […]

]]>Berlin has long had an anti-capitalist bent, part of its countercultural charm. But before the war, it was a more enterprising and bustling place, due in no small part to the nearly 50,000 Jewish-owned businesses located there. What happened to those businesses under Hitler is at the core of meticulous research by Humboldt University historian Christoph Kreutzmüller. While most of us are familiar with images of Nazi boycotts and smashed storefront windows, Kreutzmüller and his research team have assembled less familiar details about the escalating campaign of violence and administrative harassment that led to the demise of Jewish enterprises and, ultimately, the demise of the idea of Berlin as a center of industry and commerce.

Kreutzmüller’s findings were on display earlier this month in an exhibit at the Berlin Chamber of Commerce as part of the city’s yearlong reckoning with the 80th anniversary of Hitler’s rise to power. They can also be found (in German) in his new book, Final Sale: The End of Jewish Owned Businesses in Nazi Berlin, and in an online database of thousands of companies that used to exist in the city. Reporter Brian Zumhagen visited Kreutzmüller in Berlin to talk with him about his research and to visit several sites where Berlin’s forgotten Jewish enterprises once stood. [Correction: Christoph Kreutzmüller is currently a researcher and educator at the House of the Wannsee Conference in Berlin, and not, as stated in the piece, a professor at Humboldt University of Berlin.] [Running time: 13:28.]

]]>http://www.tabletmag.com/podcasts/132463/when-berlin-meant-business/feed6Berlin has long had an anti-capitalist bent, part of its countercultural charm. But before the war, it was a more enterprising and bustling place, due in no small part to the nearly 50,000 Jewish-owned businesses located there. What happened to those businesses under Hitler is at the core of meticulous research by Humboldt University historian Christoph Kreutzmüller. While most of us are familiar with images of Nazi boycotts and smashed storefront windows, Kreutzmüller and his research team have assembled less familiar details about the escalating campaign of violence and administrative harassment that led to the demise of Jewish enterprises and, ultimately, the demise of the idea of Berlin as a center of industry and commerce.
Kreutzmüller’s findings were on display earlier this month in an exhibit at the Berlin Chamber of Commerce as part of the city’s yearlong reckoning with the 80th anniversary of Hitler’s rise to power. They can also be found (in German) in his new book, Final Sale: The End of Jewish Owned Businesses in Nazi Berlin, and in an online database of thousands of companies that used to exist in the city. Reporter Brian Zumhagen visited Kreutzmüller in Berlin to talk with him about his research and to visit several sites where Berlin’s forgotten Jewish enterprises once stood. [Correction: Christoph Kreutzmüller is currently a researcher and educator at the House of the Wannsee Conference in Berlin, and not, as stated in the piece, a professor at Humboldt University of Berlin.] [Running time: 13:28.]
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<p>Berlin has long had an anti-capitalist bent, part of its countercultural charm. But before the war, it was a more enterprising and bustling place, due in no small part to the nearly 50,000 Jewish-owned businesses located there. What [...]In Praise of Dairy Restaurantshttp://www.tabletmag.com/podcasts/131827/in-praise-of-the-dairy-restaurant
http://www.tabletmag.com/podcasts/131827/in-praise-of-the-dairy-restaurant#commentsTue, 14 May 2013 04:00:52 +0000http://www.tabletmag.com/?p=131827B&H Restaurant in Manhattan’s East Village was once part of a neighborhood that vibrated with Jewishness. Yiddish theaters peppered the area. Ratner’s was down the street, and the 2nd Avenue Deli was just across the way. Opened in 1942, the dairy-only B&H has outlasted most of these joints—sure, the 2nd Avenue Deli remains but in […]

]]>B&H Restaurant in Manhattan’s East Village was once part of a neighborhood that vibrated with Jewishness. Yiddish theaters peppered the area. Ratner’s was down the street, and the 2nd Avenue Deli was just across the way. Opened in 1942, the dairy-only B&H has outlasted most of these joints—sure, the 2nd Avenue Deli remains but in a new location and not even on 2nd Avenue—with its blintz and pierogi offerings gobbled up by hungry customers in a classic, narrow diner space brightened by lime green walls.

Little has changed on B&H’s menu. So says Eve Jochnowitz, a lifelong Greenwich Village resident, Yiddish scholar, and Jewish culinary ethnographer, who has just finished translating and editing a 1930 Yiddish cookbook by Vilna restaurateur Fania Lewando. In anticipation of Shavuot, for which many of us indulge in cheesecake and other dairy delights, Jochnowitz joined Vox Tablet host Sara Ivry for a visit to B&H to talk about the history of dairy restaurants, their forgotten cousin the “appetizing store,” and the unexpected pleasure of a soup made with pickles. Jochnowitz also offers her favorite vegan alternative to the cheesecake. [Running time: 15:00.]

]]>http://www.tabletmag.com/podcasts/131827/in-praise-of-the-dairy-restaurant/feed20B&H Restaurant in Manhattan’s East Village was once part of a neighborhood that vibrated with Jewishness. Yiddish theaters peppered the area. Ratner’s was down the street, and the 2nd Avenue Deli was just across the way. Opened in 1942, the dairy-only B&H has outlasted most of these joints—sure, the 2nd Avenue Deli remains but in a new location and not even on 2nd Avenue—with its blintz and pierogi offerings gobbled up by hungry customers in a classic, narrow diner space brightened by lime green walls.
Little has changed on B&H’s menu. So says Eve Jochnowitz, a lifelong Greenwich Village resident, Yiddish scholar, and Jewish culinary ethnographer, who has just finished translating and editing a 1930 Yiddish cookbook by Vilna restaurateur Fania Lewando. In anticipation of Shavuot, for which many of us indulge in cheesecake and other dairy delights, Jochnowitz joined Vox Tablet host Sara Ivry for a visit to B&H to talk about the history of dairy restaurants, their forgotten cousin the “appetizing store,” and the unexpected pleasure of a soup made with pickles. Jochnowitz also offers her favorite vegan alternative to the cheesecake. [Running time: 15:00.]
Your browser does not support the audio element.
<p>B&H Restaurant in Manhattan’s East Village was once part of a neighborhood that vibrated with Jewishness. Yiddish theaters peppered the area. Ratner’s was down the street, and the 2nd Avenue Deli was just across the way. Opened in [...]Curse of the Survivorhttp://www.tabletmag.com/podcasts/131148/curse-of-the-survivor
http://www.tabletmag.com/podcasts/131148/curse-of-the-survivor#commentsThu, 02 May 2013 04:00:17 +0000http://www.tabletmag.com/?p=131148In 1930s Warsaw, a young beauty named Vera Gran made a name for herself as a seductive and charming cabaret singer with a voice fans likened to Edith Piaf’s and Marlene Dietrich’s. Gran (born Grynberg) was, along with her mother and sisters and thousands of other Jews, forced to live inside the Warsaw Ghetto during […]

]]>In 1930s Warsaw, a young beauty named Vera Gran made a name for herself as a seductive and charming cabaret singer with a voice fans likened to Edith Piaf’s and Marlene Dietrich’s. Gran (born Grynberg) was, along with her mother and sisters and thousands of other Jews, forced to live inside the Warsaw Ghetto during World War II. During her time in the ghetto, she continued performing until she managed, with the help of her Polish husband, to escape its confines and go into hiding in 1942. Her family perished.

As devastating as that loss was, Gran’s nightmare took a harrowing new turn after the war, when she was suddenly accused by other survivors—including her accompanist, the pianist Wladyslaw Szpilman—of having collaborated with the Gestapo. Her story captivated the Polish writer Agata Tuszyńska, who was born after the war but whose own mother and grandmother struggled to survive in the Warsaw Ghetto and who feels still the effects of that confinement in her own life. Tuszyńska, in New York as part of the PEN World Voices Festival, made Gran’s acquaintance in Paris, when Gran was old and bitter and ever suspicious. Tuszyńska’s new book is Vera Gran: The Accused, and she talks with Vox Tablet host Sara Ivry about how she convinced the paranoid old woman to talk to her, about the nature of the accusations made against Gran, and about the slow process of discovery that has followed from Tuszyńska’s learning, at age 19, that her mother was a Jew. [Running time: 33:38.]

]]>http://www.tabletmag.com/podcasts/131148/curse-of-the-survivor/feed11In 1930s Warsaw, a young beauty named Vera Gran made a name for herself as a seductive and charming cabaret singer with a voice fans likened to Edith Piaf’s and Marlene Dietrich’s. Gran (born Grynberg) was, along with her mother and sisters and thousands of other Jews, forced to live inside the Warsaw Ghetto during World War II. During her time in the ghetto, she continued performing until she managed, with the help of her Polish husband, to escape its confines and go into hiding in 1942. Her family perished.
As devastating as that loss was, Gran’s nightmare took a harrowing new turn after the war, when she was suddenly accused by other survivors—including her accompanist, the pianist Wladyslaw Szpilman—of having collaborated with the Gestapo. Her story captivated the Polish writer Agata Tuszyńska, who was born after the war but whose own mother and grandmother struggled to survive in the Warsaw Ghetto and who feels still the effects of that confinement in her own life. Tuszyńska, in New York as part of the PEN World Voices Festival, made Gran’s acquaintance in Paris, when Gran was old and bitter and ever suspicious. Tuszyńska’s new book is Vera Gran: The Accused, and she talks with Vox Tablet host Sara Ivry about how she convinced the paranoid old woman to talk to her, about the nature of the accusations made against Gran, and about the slow process of discovery that has followed from Tuszyńska’s learning, at age 19, that her mother was a Jew. [Running time: 33:38.]
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<p>In 1930s Warsaw, a young beauty named Vera Gran made a name for herself as a seductive and charming cabaret singer with a voice fans likened to Edith Piaf’s and Marlene Dietrich’s. Gran (born Grynberg) was, along with her mother and [...]Inside the Ringelblum Archivehttp://www.tabletmag.com/podcasts/130078/inside-the-ringelblum-archive
http://www.tabletmag.com/podcasts/130078/inside-the-ringelblum-archive#commentsFri, 19 Apr 2013 04:00:31 +0000http://www.tabletmag.com/?p=130078To read more Tablet in Warsaw coverage, click here. This week, Tablet is reporting from Warsaw, which is commemorating the 70th anniversary of the Warsaw Ghetto uprising. The new Museum of the History of Polish Jews, opening today after formal ceremonies, is a spectacular glass-and-concrete structure—still empty, for the most part—that has been 20 years […]

This week, Tablet is reporting from Warsaw, which is commemorating the 70th anniversary of the Warsaw Ghetto uprising. The new Museum of the History of Polish Jews, opening today after formal ceremonies, is a spectacular glass-and-concrete structure—still empty, for the most part—that has been 20 years in the making, at a cost of more than 100 million dollars.

Proponents of the museum believe it represents a huge step forward in healing Polish-Jewish relations. Critics say it’s too Jewish, or not Jewish enough. The one thing that everyone seems to agree on is that, like it or not, this museum—which will rely on multimedia exhibits to tell its story—is not, and will never be, a home to artifacts. Yet about a mile away, on a slightly run-down side street, sits an archive that has been collecting Polish Jewish artifacts continually from before the war to the present.

Reopened in 1947, Warsaw’s Jewish Historical Institute is essentially a continuation of an institute started in 1928. Today it holds what is arguably one of the most precious collections of Jewish life: the contents of 10 metal boxes and two milk canisters dug up shortly after the war and then several years later, in near-miraculous survivals of documents, letters, and other records of daily life from the annihilated Warsaw Ghetto.

Vox Tablet’s Julie Subrin went to visit this archive earlier in the week. With her was Agnieszka Reszka, the head of the archive, and Samuel Kassow, an American historian who wrote a book on the archive and its creator, Emanuel Ringelblum. For Reszka and Kassow, the archive offers us the opportunity to breathe new life into a lost world. [Running time: 14:26.]

]]>http://www.tabletmag.com/podcasts/130078/inside-the-ringelblum-archive/feed3To read more Tablet in Warsaw coverage, click here.
This week, Tablet is reporting from Warsaw, which is commemorating the 70th anniversary of the Warsaw Ghetto uprising. The new Museum of the History of Polish Jews, opening today after formal ceremonies, is a spectacular glass-and-concrete structure—still empty, for the most part—that has been 20 years in the making, at a cost of more than 100 million dollars.
Proponents of the museum believe it represents a huge step forward in healing Polish-Jewish relations. Critics say it’s too Jewish, or not Jewish enough. The one thing that everyone seems to agree on is that, like it or not, this museum—which will rely on multimedia exhibits to tell its story—is not, and will never be, a home to artifacts. Yet about a mile away, on a slightly run-down side street, sits an archive that has been collecting Polish Jewish artifacts continually from before the war to the present.
Reopened in 1947, Warsaw’s Jewish Historical Institute is essentially a continuation of an institute started in 1928. Today it holds what is arguably one of the most precious collections of Jewish life: the contents of 10 metal boxes and two milk canisters dug up shortly after the war and then several years later, in near-miraculous survivals of documents, letters, and other records of daily life from the annihilated Warsaw Ghetto.
Vox Tablet’s Julie Subrin went to visit this archive earlier in the week. With her was Agnieszka Reszka, the head of the archive, and Samuel Kassow, an American historian who wrote a book on the archive and its creator, Emanuel Ringelblum. For Reszka and Kassow, the archive offers us the opportunity to breathe new life into a lost world. [Running time: 14:26.]
Your browser does not support the audio element.
<p>To read more Tablet in Warsaw coverage, click here. This week, Tablet is reporting from Warsaw, which is commemorating the 70th anniversary of the Warsaw Ghetto uprising. The new Museum of the History of Polish Jews, opening today after [...]Why Do We Want Revenge?http://www.tabletmag.com/podcasts/129308/revenge-vengeance-or-justice
http://www.tabletmag.com/podcasts/129308/revenge-vengeance-or-justice#commentsTue, 16 Apr 2013 04:00:45 +0000http://www.tabletmag.com/?p=129308In the wake of horrific crimes, there is a mantra from politicians, lawyers, and victims: They don’t want revenge, they say; they just want justice. Thane Rosenbaum, a novelist, essayist, and professor at Fordham Law School, says a distinction between the two is both disingenuous and misguided. In his new book, Payback: The Case for […]

]]>In the wake of horrific crimes, there is a mantra from politicians, lawyers, and victims: They don’t want revenge, they say; they just want justice. Thane Rosenbaum, a novelist, essayist, and professor at Fordham Law School, says a distinction between the two is both disingenuous and misguided. In his new book, Payback: The Case for Revenge, Rosenbaum argues that the modern American judicial system in fact needs an injection of Old-Testament-style vengeance. From the killing of Osama Bin Laden to popular films like Munich and Braveheart, Rosenbaum highlights the contradiction between our desire for vengeance and our public disavowal of that desire. In a conversation with Tablet Magazine’s Bari Weiss, he made his case. [Running time: 23:42.]

]]>http://www.tabletmag.com/podcasts/129308/revenge-vengeance-or-justice/feed6In the wake of horrific crimes, there is a mantra from politicians, lawyers, and victims: They don’t want revenge, they say; they just want justice. Thane Rosenbaum, a novelist, essayist, and professor at Fordham Law School, says a distinction between the two is both disingenuous and misguided. In his new book, Payback: The Case for Revenge, Rosenbaum argues that the modern American judicial system in fact needs an injection of Old-Testament-style vengeance. From the killing of Osama Bin Laden to popular films like Munich and Braveheart, Rosenbaum highlights the contradiction between our desire for vengeance and our public disavowal of that desire. In a conversation with Tablet Magazine’s Bari Weiss, he made his case. [Running time: 23:42.]
Your browser does not support the audio element.
<p>In the wake of horrific crimes, there is a mantra from politicians, lawyers, and victims: They don’t want revenge, they say; they just want justice. Thane Rosenbaum, a novelist, essayist, and professor at Fordham Law School, says a [...]The Search for an Ancient Bluehttp://www.tabletmag.com/podcasts/128718/the-search-for-an-ancient-blue
http://www.tabletmag.com/podcasts/128718/the-search-for-an-ancient-blue#commentsThu, 11 Apr 2013 04:00:49 +0000http://www.tabletmag.com/?p=128718In the Book of Numbers, it is written that God said to Moses: “Speak to the sons of Israel, and tell them that they shall make for themselves tassels on the corners of their garments throughout their generations, and that they shall put on the tassel of each corner a cord of blue.” Yet it […]

]]>In the Book of Numbers, it is written that God said to Moses: “Speak to the sons of Israel, and tell them that they shall make for themselves tassels on the corners of their garments throughout their generations, and that they shall put on the tassel of each corner a cord of blue.” Yet it is comparatively rare to see Jews wearing prayer shawls with blue thread added to the fringes. Why this intransigence?

The short answer is that it’s an extraordinarily difficult commandment to fulfill, and one over which people have puzzled for centuries. Religious Jews believe that the blue used on tzitzit must be the same blue as was used in ancient times, and the source of that blue, referred to in the Bible as tekhelet, has been shrouded in mystery for over a thousand years.

Now, thanks to the efforts of a motley crew of rabbis, chemists, marine biologists, and archaeologists from around the world, it appears the mystery has been solved. Vox Tablet sent reporter Zak Rosen to the Mediterranean coast of Israel to meet tekhelet expert Baruch Sterman, author of The Rarest Blue: The Remarkable Story of an Ancient Color Lost to History and Rediscovered, to find out why this discovery took so long. [Running time: 17:31.]

]]>http://www.tabletmag.com/podcasts/128718/the-search-for-an-ancient-blue/feed15In the Book of Numbers, it is written that God said to Moses: “Speak to the sons of Israel, and tell them that they shall make for themselves tassels on the corners of their garments throughout their generations, and that they shall put on the tassel of each corner a cord of blue.” Yet it is comparatively rare to see Jews wearing prayer shawls with blue thread added to the fringes. Why this intransigence?
The short answer is that it’s an extraordinarily difficult commandment to fulfill, and one over which people have puzzled for centuries. Religious Jews believe that the blue used on tzitzit must be the same blue as was used in ancient times, and the source of that blue, referred to in the Bible as tekhelet, has been shrouded in mystery for over a thousand years.
Now, thanks to the efforts of a motley crew of rabbis, chemists, marine biologists, and archaeologists from around the world, it appears the mystery has been solved. Vox Tablet sent reporter Zak Rosen to the Mediterranean coast of Israel to meet tekhelet expert Baruch Sterman, author of The Rarest Blue: The Remarkable Story of an Ancient Color Lost to History and Rediscovered, to find out why this discovery took so long. [Running time: 17:31.]
Your browser does not support the audio element.
<p>In the Book of Numbers, it is written that God said to Moses: “Speak to the sons of Israel, and tell them that they shall make for themselves tassels on the corners of their garments throughout their generations, and that they shall put [...]Close Encounters With Talmudhttp://www.tabletmag.com/podcasts/128185/close-encounters-with-talmud
http://www.tabletmag.com/podcasts/128185/close-encounters-with-talmud#commentsFri, 29 Mar 2013 04:00:04 +0000http://www.tabletmag.com/?p=128185As an author and literary critic (including for Tablet), Adam Kirsch has written about Lionel Trilling, Benjamin Disraeli, Emily Dickinson, and Isaac Bashevis Singer, among many others. This past August, he moved into less familiar territory when he joined the tens of thousands of Jews participating in Daf Yomi, studying a page of Talmud a […]

]]>As an author and literary critic (including for Tablet), Adam Kirsch has written about Lionel Trilling, Benjamin Disraeli, Emily Dickinson, and Isaac Bashevis Singer, among many others. This past August, he moved into less familiar territory when he joined the tens of thousands of Jews participating in Daf Yomi, studying a page of Talmud a day. The study cycle will take seven and a half years to complete. Since he began, Kirsch has been writing a weekly column to share his reflections on these essential Jewish texts, and on the Daf Yomi process itself.

On today’s Vox Tablet, Kirsch shares some of those reflections with Jonathan Rosen, author of The Talmud and the Internet, and editor of the Jewish Encounters series, published by Nextbook Press. Together, they consider the value of studying Jewish law even if you don’t intend to follow it and marvel at the complex logic, outlandish scenarios, and deeply human responses to be found within these pages. [Running time: 22:28.]

]]>http://www.tabletmag.com/podcasts/128185/close-encounters-with-talmud/feed9As an author and literary critic (including for Tablet), Adam Kirsch has written about Lionel Trilling, Benjamin Disraeli, Emily Dickinson, and Isaac Bashevis Singer, among many others. This past August, he moved into less familiar territory when he joined the tens of thousands of Jews participating in Daf Yomi, studying a page of Talmud a day. The study cycle will take seven and a half years to complete. Since he began, Kirsch has been writing a weekly column to share his reflections on these essential Jewish texts, and on the Daf Yomi process itself.
On today’s Vox Tablet, Kirsch shares some of those reflections with Jonathan Rosen, author of The Talmud and the Internet, and editor of the Jewish Encounters series, published by Nextbook Press. Together, they consider the value of studying Jewish law even if you don’t intend to follow it and marvel at the complex logic, outlandish scenarios, and deeply human responses to be found within these pages. [Running time: 22:28.]
Your browser does not support the audio element.
<p>As an author and literary critic (including for Tablet), Adam Kirsch has written about Lionel Trilling, Benjamin Disraeli, Emily Dickinson, and Isaac Bashevis Singer, among many others. This past August, he moved into less familiar [...]Obsessed With Hollywoodhttp://www.tabletmag.com/podcasts/127944/obsessed-with-hollywood
http://www.tabletmag.com/podcasts/127944/obsessed-with-hollywood#commentsMon, 25 Mar 2013 04:00:07 +0000http://www.tabletmag.com/?p=127944Rachel Shukert is well known to Tablet followers as our pop culture expert, writing her Tattler column about everything from reality TV to the British royal family. She even wrote and performed an Oscar-night medley. Shukert is also the author of two memoirs: Have You No Shame? and Everything Is Going to Be Great. In […]

]]>Rachel Shukert is well known to Tablet followers as our pop culture expert, writing her Tattler column about everything from reality TV to the British royal family. She even wrote and performed an Oscar-night medley. Shukert is also the author of two memoirs: Have You No Shame? and Everything Is Going to Be Great.

In her new young-adult novel Starstruck, the first of a three-part series, Shukert focuses on pop culture, but from a historical perspective. Set in the 1930s, the Golden Age of Hollywood, the book follows three young women trying to break into the movie industry. The most shocking things in Starstruck happen off-screen, though: betrayals, unimaginable secrets, sexual misconduct, and manipulation from the studio chiefs who run the show. Tablet’s Managing Editor Wayne Hoffman sat down with Shukert to talk about her new book, her own experiences trying to break into show biz, and the changing roles of Jews in Hollywood. [Running time: 16:00.]

]]>http://www.tabletmag.com/podcasts/127944/obsessed-with-hollywood/feed5Rachel Shukert is well known to Tablet followers as our pop culture expert, writing her Tattler column about everything from reality TV to the British royal family. She even wrote and performed an Oscar-night medley. Shukert is also the author of two memoirs: Have You No Shame? and Everything Is Going to Be Great.
In her new young-adult novel Starstruck, the first of a three-part series, Shukert focuses on pop culture, but from a historical perspective. Set in the 1930s, the Golden Age of Hollywood, the book follows three young women trying to break into the movie industry. The most shocking things in Starstruck happen off-screen, though: betrayals, unimaginable secrets, sexual misconduct, and manipulation from the studio chiefs who run the show. Tablet’s Managing Editor Wayne Hoffman sat down with Shukert to talk about her new book, her own experiences trying to break into show biz, and the changing roles of Jews in Hollywood. [Running time: 16:00.]
Your browser does not support the audio element.
<p>Rachel Shukert is well known to Tablet followers as our pop culture expert, writing her Tattler column about everything from reality TV to the British royal family. She even wrote and performed an Oscar-night medley. Shukert is also the [...]Our Jesushttp://www.tabletmag.com/podcasts/127493/our-jesus
http://www.tabletmag.com/podcasts/127493/our-jesus#commentsWed, 20 Mar 2013 04:00:31 +0000http://www.tabletmag.com/?p=127493Twenty years ago, while studying Hebrew and Latin in high school, London writer Naomi Alderman found herself fascinated by the conflicting and overlapping Jewish and Christian accounts she was reading of the first century AD. She remembers telling her Hebrew teacher, “Someone should write a novel about Jesus, but from the Jewish perspective.” Her teacher […]

]]>Twenty years ago, while studying Hebrew and Latin in high school, London writer Naomi Alderman found herself fascinated by the conflicting and overlapping Jewish and Christian accounts she was reading of the first century AD. She remembers telling her Hebrew teacher, “Someone should write a novel about Jesus, but from the Jewish perspective.” Her teacher thought it was a terrible, if not outright dangerous, idea.

Now Alderman herself has written that novel. The Liars’ Gospel tells the story of the life and death of Jesus from four perspectives: that of his mother Miryam (Mary); his disciple and later betrayer Iehuda from Qeriot (Judas Iscariot); the High Priest Caiaphas; and Bar-Avo (Barabbas), the murderer and rebel whom Pontius Pilate releases instead of Jesus. Each of the four characters is drawn from the New Testament, but in Alderman’s telling, they are fully Jews, like Jesus himself, and are steeped in the rituals and beliefs of their time. It’s a provocative and fascinating retelling of one of the foundational narratives of Western culture.

This is not the first time Alderman has used fiction to challenge orthodoxies. Her first novel, Disobedience, told the story of Ronit Krushka, a lapsed Orthodox Jew who returns to London when her estranged father, a revered rabbi, dies. The novel portrays adulterous and lesbian love affairs, among other transgressions, and it offended some in the Orthodox community in which Alderman grew up. It also earned Alderman the U.K.’s 2006 Orange Prize for New Writers.

Vox Tablet’s Julie Subrin speaks with Alderman about how she tackled the story of Jesus, reactions to her novel from Christian readers, and how Jews can and should shed their fear of Christianity. Give a listen, and if the conversation leaves you wanting more, enter our sweepstakes to win a free copy of The Liars’ Gospel. [Running time: 24:35.]

]]>http://www.tabletmag.com/podcasts/127493/our-jesus/feed49Twenty years ago, while studying Hebrew and Latin in high school, London writer Naomi Alderman found herself fascinated by the conflicting and overlapping Jewish and Christian accounts she was reading of the first century AD. She remembers telling her Hebrew teacher, “Someone should write a novel about Jesus, but from the Jewish perspective.” Her teacher thought it was a terrible, if not outright dangerous, idea.
Now Alderman herself has written that novel. The Liars’ Gospel tells the story of the life and death of Jesus from four perspectives: that of his mother Miryam (Mary); his disciple and later betrayer Iehuda from Qeriot (Judas Iscariot); the High Priest Caiaphas; and Bar-Avo (Barabbas), the murderer and rebel whom Pontius Pilate releases instead of Jesus. Each of the four characters is drawn from the New Testament, but in Alderman’s telling, they are fully Jews, like Jesus himself, and are steeped in the rituals and beliefs of their time. It’s a provocative and fascinating retelling of one of the foundational narratives of Western culture.
This is not the first time Alderman has used fiction to challenge orthodoxies. Her first novel, Disobedience, told the story of Ronit Krushka, a lapsed Orthodox Jew who returns to London when her estranged father, a revered rabbi, dies. The novel portrays adulterous and lesbian love affairs, among other transgressions, and it offended some in the Orthodox community in which Alderman grew up. It also earned Alderman the U.K.’s 2006 Orange Prize for New Writers.
Vox Tablet’s Julie Subrin speaks with Alderman about how she tackled the story of Jesus, reactions to her novel from Christian readers, and how Jews can and should shed their fear of Christianity. Give a listen, and if the conversation leaves you wanting more, enter our sweepstakes to win a free copy of The Liars’ Gospel. [Running time: 24:35.]
Your browser does not support the audio element.
<p>Twenty years ago, while studying Hebrew and Latin in high school, London writer Naomi Alderman found herself fascinated by the conflicting and overlapping Jewish and Christian accounts she was reading of the first century AD. She remembers [...]An Unwed Woman of Valorhttp://www.tabletmag.com/podcasts/126377/an-unwed-woman-of-valor
http://www.tabletmag.com/podcasts/126377/an-unwed-woman-of-valor#commentsMon, 11 Mar 2013 05:00:21 +0000http://www.tabletmag.com/?p=126377When Mereleh Luft arrived in New York as a teenager in 1914, she had big plans: to meet a man and start a Jewish family, and to earn enough money to bring the rest of her family over from Latvia. By the 1930s, however, she had little to show for her years in America; she’d […]

]]>When Mereleh Luft arrived in New York as a teenager in 1914, she had big plans: to meet a man and start a Jewish family, and to earn enough money to bring the rest of her family over from Latvia. By the 1930s, however, she had little to show for her years in America; she’d been slaving away in garment factories, living in rented rooms, and clinging to a manipulative playboy who refused to marry her. Meanwhile, her family remained stuck in Latvia, even as Hitler’s armies marched east and made their escape a matter of life and death.

In a new biography, Luft’s daughter Lillian Faderman recounts her mother’s travails. Faderman is an award-winning historian best known for her books on lesbian history and for her first memoir, Naked in the Promised Land. In the new book, called My Mother’s Wars, Faderman draws on her skills as a historian and also as a remarkably empathic daughter, to piece together her mother’s life story and all she endured—the bad relationships, exploitative sweatshops, secret abortions, and the crushing guilt she felt for failing to save her family. Tablet Managing Editor Wayne Hoffman spoke with Faderman about her mother’s tragic yet heroic life story and how writing this biography helped her view her mother in a new light. [Running time: 15:30.]

]]>http://www.tabletmag.com/podcasts/126377/an-unwed-woman-of-valor/feed2When Mereleh Luft arrived in New York as a teenager in 1914, she had big plans: to meet a man and start a Jewish family, and to earn enough money to bring the rest of her family over from Latvia. By the 1930s, however, she had little to show for her years in America; she’d been slaving away in garment factories, living in rented rooms, and clinging to a manipulative playboy who refused to marry her. Meanwhile, her family remained stuck in Latvia, even as Hitler’s armies marched east and made their escape a matter of life and death.
In a new biography, Luft’s daughter Lillian Faderman recounts her mother’s travails. Faderman is an award-winning historian best known for her books on lesbian history and for her first memoir, Naked in the Promised Land. In the new book, called My Mother’s Wars, Faderman draws on her skills as a historian and also as a remarkably empathic daughter, to piece together her mother’s life story and all she endured—the bad relationships, exploitative sweatshops, secret abortions, and the crushing guilt she felt for failing to save her family. Tablet Managing Editor Wayne Hoffman spoke with Faderman about her mother’s tragic yet heroic life story and how writing this biography helped her view her mother in a new light. [Running time: 15:30.]
Your browser does not support the audio element.
<p>When Mereleh Luft arrived in New York as a teenager in 1914, she had big plans: to meet a man and start a Jewish family, and to earn enough money to bring the rest of her family over from Latvia. By the 1930s, however, she had little to [...]The Nine Lives of ‘Hava Nagila’http://www.tabletmag.com/podcasts/125564/the-nine-lives-of-hava-nagila
http://www.tabletmag.com/podcasts/125564/the-nine-lives-of-hava-nagila#commentsFri, 01 Mar 2013 05:00:29 +0000http://www.tabletmag.com/?p=125564“Hava Nagila” is perhaps the best-known Jewish song in the United States. Jewish and non-Jewish wedding and bar/bat mitzvah attendees alike know that its first few notes are our cue to link arms on the dance floor and drag or be dragged through a never-ending and increasingly chaotic hora. But how many people know that […]

]]>“Hava Nagila” is perhaps the best-known Jewish song in the United States. Jewish and non-Jewish wedding and bar/bat mitzvah attendees alike know that its first few notes are our cue to link arms on the dance floor and drag or be dragged through a never-ending and increasingly chaotic hora.

But how many people know that the song originated not in Israel (Hebrew lyrics not withstanding) but in Ukraine, and that its greatest ambassador was not Jewish at all? In Hava Nagila (The Movie), a documentary that opens in a limited theatrical release this month, director Roberta Grossman traces the song’s history from a Hasidic enclave in the Pale of Settlement to Palestine and then the United States. She also looks at how affection for the song has waxed and waned, in some ways reflecting American Jews’ (and others’) relationship to Jewishness, through interviews with actor Leonard Nimoy, singers and musicians Regina Spektor, Harry Belafonte, Henry Sapoznik, ethno-musicologist Josh Kun, and many others. (If, after seeing the film, you feel that you still haven’t had your fill of “Hava Nagila” history, there’s also an exhibit on the song on view at New York’s Museum of Jewish Heritage.)

On today’s podcast, guest host Rebecca Soffer, a New York-based producer and writer, talks to Grossman about how this project came to be, the song’s status among American Jews today, and Bob Dylan’s “talking blues” interpretation which is, depending on your perspective, a mangling or a brilliant articulation of Jewish ambivalence. [Running time: 19:50.]

]]>http://www.tabletmag.com/podcasts/125564/the-nine-lives-of-hava-nagila/feed8“Hava Nagila” is perhaps the best-known Jewish song in the United States. Jewish and non-Jewish wedding and bar/bat mitzvah attendees alike know that its first few notes are our cue to link arms on the dance floor and drag or be dragged through a never-ending and increasingly chaotic hora.
But how many people know that the song originated not in Israel (Hebrew lyrics not withstanding) but in Ukraine, and that its greatest ambassador was not Jewish at all? In Hava Nagila (The Movie), a documentary that opens in a limited theatrical release this month, director Roberta Grossman traces the song’s history from a Hasidic enclave in the Pale of Settlement to Palestine and then the United States. She also looks at how affection for the song has waxed and waned, in some ways reflecting American Jews’ (and others’) relationship to Jewishness, through interviews with actor Leonard Nimoy, singers and musicians Regina Spektor, Harry Belafonte, Henry Sapoznik, ethno-musicologist Josh Kun, and many others. (If, after seeing the film, you feel that you still haven’t had your fill of “Hava Nagila” history, there’s also an exhibit on the song on view at New York’s Museum of Jewish Heritage.)
On today’s podcast, guest host Rebecca Soffer, a New York-based producer and writer, talks to Grossman about how this project came to be, the song’s status among American Jews today, and Bob Dylan’s “talking blues” interpretation which is, depending on your perspective, a mangling or a brilliant articulation of Jewish ambivalence. [Running time: 19:50.]
Your browser does not support the audio element.
<p>“Hava Nagila” is perhaps the best-known Jewish song in the United States. Jewish and non-Jewish wedding and bar/bat mitzvah attendees alike know that its first few notes are our cue to link arms on the dance floor and drag or be [...]A Very Modern Purimspielhttp://www.tabletmag.com/podcasts/124720/purimspiel-the-next-generation
http://www.tabletmag.com/podcasts/124720/purimspiel-the-next-generation#commentsFri, 22 Feb 2013 05:00:28 +0000http://www.tabletmag.com/?p=124720A central component of Purim observance is, of course, the raucous, collective reading of the Book of Esther. That tradition has evolved into a virtual industry of theatrical storytelling events, or Purimspiels. This year, Vox Tablet decided to jump on the bandwagon. We commissioned four young comedians and/or comedy writers—Josh Gondelman (of recent Modern Seinfeld […]

]]>A central component of Purim observance is, of course, the raucous, collective reading of the Book of Esther. That tradition has evolved into a virtual industry of theatrical storytelling events, or Purimspiels. This year, Vox Tablet decided to jump on the bandwagon. We commissioned four young comedians and/or comedy writers—Josh Gondelman (of recent Modern Seinfeld fame), Emily Heller, Rob Kutner, and Judy Batalion—to share personal stories related to one of several Purim-related themes. With guest host Rebecca Soffer as emcee, here are their stories, which take us on ill-advised cross-country road trips, deposit us in awkward dinner conversations, and remind us of the many ways one can hide one’s identity, or re-discover it. Music for today’s podcast is courtesy of the klezmer band Isle of Klezbos. [Running time: 23:11.]

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***
Listen to individual stories here:

]]>http://www.tabletmag.com/podcasts/124720/purimspiel-the-next-generation/feed3A central component of Purim observance is, of course, the raucous, collective reading of the Book of Esther. That tradition has evolved into a virtual industry of theatrical storytelling events, or Purimspiels. This year, Vox Tablet decided to jump on the bandwagon. We commissioned four young comedians and/or comedy writers—Josh Gondelman (of recent Modern Seinfeld fame), Emily Heller, Rob Kutner, and Judy Batalion—to share personal stories related to one of several Purim-related themes. With guest host Rebecca Soffer as emcee, here are their stories, which take us on ill-advised cross-country road trips, deposit us in awkward dinner conversations, and remind us of the many ways one can hide one’s identity, or re-discover it. Music for today’s podcast is courtesy of the klezmer band Isle of Klezbos. [Running time: 23:11.]
Your browser does not support the audio element.
***
Listen to individual stories here:
Josh Gondelman, “The Kindness of Strangers”
Emily Heller, “Bait and Switch”
Rob Kutner, “Skiing With Jesus”
Judy Batalion, “Chicken”
<p>A central component of Purim observance is, of course, the raucous, collective reading of the Book of Esther. That tradition has evolved into a virtual industry of theatrical storytelling events, or Purimspiels. This year, Vox Tablet [...]How (Not) To Stop a Bullyhttp://www.tabletmag.com/podcasts/124548/how-not-to-stop-a-bully
http://www.tabletmag.com/podcasts/124548/how-not-to-stop-a-bully#commentsTue, 19 Feb 2013 05:00:13 +0000http://www.tabletmag.com/?p=124548When a bullying incident makes the news, a flurry of collective hand-wringing generally follows. We call for schools to be stricter, punishment to be harsher, kids to be kinder. But what have we actually learned about the dynamic of bullying and, more important, the most effective ways to prevent it? Slate writer and editor Emily […]

]]>When a bullying incident makes the news, a flurry of collective hand-wringing generally follows. We call for schools to be stricter, punishment to be harsher, kids to be kinder. But what have we actually learned about the dynamic of bullying and, more important, the most effective ways to prevent it? Slate writer and editor Emily Bazelon tackles these questions in a new book, Sticks and Stones: Defeating the Culture of Bullying and Rediscovering the Power of Character and Empathy. Bazelon has reported on bullying since 2009. In the book, she profiles three teens—two victims of bullying, and one who was accused of bullying—and then goes beyond to define what bullying is, and is not; what works, and what doesn’t, to interrupt a cycle of bullying; and what needs to be done to prevent a culture of bullying from taking hold in schools and online.

Bazelon speaks with Tablet Magazine’s Liel Leibovitz about bullying and the role schools, parents, Jewish values, and Mark Zuckerberg could play in stopping it. [Running time: 24:23]

]]>http://www.tabletmag.com/podcasts/124548/how-not-to-stop-a-bully/feed2When a bullying incident makes the news, a flurry of collective hand-wringing generally follows. We call for schools to be stricter, punishment to be harsher, kids to be kinder. But what have we actually learned about the dynamic of bullying and, more important, the most effective ways to prevent it? Slate writer and editor Emily Bazelon tackles these questions in a new book, Sticks and Stones: Defeating the Culture of Bullying and Rediscovering the Power of Character and Empathy. Bazelon has reported on bullying since 2009. In the book, she profiles three teens—two victims of bullying, and one who was accused of bullying—and then goes beyond to define what bullying is, and is not; what works, and what doesn’t, to interrupt a cycle of bullying; and what needs to be done to prevent a culture of bullying from taking hold in schools and online.
Bazelon speaks with Tablet Magazine’s Liel Leibovitz about bullying and the role schools, parents, Jewish values, and Mark Zuckerberg could play in stopping it. [Running time: 24:23]
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<p>When a bullying incident makes the news, a flurry of collective hand-wringing generally follows. We call for schools to be stricter, punishment to be harsher, kids to be kinder. But what have we actually learned about the dynamic of [...]How To Sell Judaismhttp://www.tabletmag.com/podcasts/123245/how-to-sell-judaism
http://www.tabletmag.com/podcasts/123245/how-to-sell-judaism#commentsMon, 04 Feb 2013 12:00:11 +0000http://www.tabletmag.com/?p=123245If you’ve spent any time on the streets or subways of New York City in the past decade, you’ve probably encountered the ads for Manhattan Mini Storage. The company is famous for its no-holds-barred billboards and subway posters, which sometimes poke fun at New Yorkers’ over-crowded lives, and other times skewer those who don’t hold […]

]]>If you’ve spent any time on the streets or subways of New York City in the past decade, you’ve probably encountered the ads for Manhattan Mini Storage. The company is famous for its no-holds-barred billboards and subway posters, which sometimes poke fun at New Yorkers’ over-crowded lives, and other times skewer those who don’t hold unapologotically liberal political views. As chief branding officer of Edison Properties, the parent company of Manhattan Mini Storage, Archie Gottesman is the brains and wit behind those ads. She’s third-generation in the real-estate business and was eager to find a way to make the job of selling storage space more fun.

Gottesman later found herself provoking and entertaining readers with a different marketing effort. Despairing over the take-it-or-leave-it attitude many of her Jewish friends and neighbors held with regard to their religious birthright, she published a call to arms that she dubbed a “New Ten Commandments.” We invited Gottesman to speak with guest host Julie Burstein about this new mission, figuring if there’s anyone who can reengage Jews in Jewishness, it’s the woman who made many, if not all, New Yorkers come to have feelings of affection for a storage company. [Running time: 26:28.]

]]>http://www.tabletmag.com/podcasts/123245/how-to-sell-judaism/feed7If you’ve spent any time on the streets or subways of New York City in the past decade, you’ve probably encountered the ads for Manhattan Mini Storage. The company is famous for its no-holds-barred billboards and subway posters, which sometimes poke fun at New Yorkers’ over-crowded lives, and other times skewer those who don’t hold unapologotically liberal political views. As chief branding officer of Edison Properties, the parent company of Manhattan Mini Storage, Archie Gottesman is the brains and wit behind those ads. She’s third-generation in the real-estate business and was eager to find a way to make the job of selling storage space more fun.
Gottesman later found herself provoking and entertaining readers with a different marketing effort. Despairing over the take-it-or-leave-it attitude many of her Jewish friends and neighbors held with regard to their religious birthright, she published a call to arms that she dubbed a “New Ten Commandments.” We invited Gottesman to speak with guest host Julie Burstein about this new mission, figuring if there’s anyone who can reengage Jews in Jewishness, it’s the woman who made many, if not all, New Yorkers come to have feelings of affection for a storage company. [Running time: 26:28.]
Your browser does not support the audio element.
<p>If you’ve spent any time on the streets or subways of New York City in the past decade, you’ve probably encountered the ads for Manhattan Mini Storage. The company is famous for its no-holds-barred billboards and subway posters, which [...]The Afterlife of a Russian Bardhttp://www.tabletmag.com/podcasts/122619/the-afterlife-of-a-russian-bard
http://www.tabletmag.com/podcasts/122619/the-afterlife-of-a-russian-bard#commentsMon, 28 Jan 2013 12:00:18 +0000http://www.tabletmag.com/?p=122619Vladimir Vysotsky, Russia’s beloved balladeer, would have turned 75 this week. Though he died more than three decades ago, at the age of 42, he is still revered as a singer and poet who captured the mood, and the soul, of a dejected generation. But while Vysotsky’s music and persona clearly spoke to a particular […]

]]>Vladimir Vysotsky, Russia’s beloved balladeer, would have turned 75 this week. Though he died more than three decades ago, at the age of 42, he is still revered as a singer and poet who captured the mood, and the soul, of a dejected generation. But while Vysotsky’s music and persona clearly spoke to a particular time and place (the USSR in the post-Stalinist “Thaw” era), his songs have been adopted by social movements all over the world, including, most recently, Israel’s tent protesters during the summer of 2011.

Today, on Vox Tablet, Liel Leibovitz looks at the too-short life, and enduring afterlife, of this remarkable man and considers what it is that makes his ballads so resonant for so many. [Running time: 10:11.]

]]>http://www.tabletmag.com/podcasts/122619/the-afterlife-of-a-russian-bard/feed6Vladimir Vysotsky, Russia’s beloved balladeer, would have turned 75 this week. Though he died more than three decades ago, at the age of 42, he is still revered as a singer and poet who captured the mood, and the soul, of a dejected generation. But while Vysotsky’s music and persona clearly spoke to a particular time and place (the USSR in the post-Stalinist “Thaw” era), his songs have been adopted by social movements all over the world, including, most recently, Israel’s tent protesters during the summer of 2011.
Today, on Vox Tablet, Liel Leibovitz looks at the too-short life, and enduring afterlife, of this remarkable man and considers what it is that makes his ballads so resonant for so many. [Running time: 10:11.]
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<p>Vladimir Vysotsky, Russia’s beloved balladeer, would have turned 75 this week. Though he died more than three decades ago, at the age of 42, he is still revered as a singer and poet who captured the mood, and the soul, of a dejected [...]The Settlers’ Spiritual Fathershttp://www.tabletmag.com/podcasts/122015/the-settlers-spiritual-fathers
http://www.tabletmag.com/podcasts/122015/the-settlers-spiritual-fathers#commentsTue, 22 Jan 2013 12:00:09 +0000http://www.tabletmag.com/?p=122015Israeli voters go to the polls today to elect the next Knesset. Regardless of the outcome, undoubtedly the biggest story of the campaign season has been the rise of Naftali Bennett, a rookie politician who, against the odds, helped religious Zionism grow from a strong but discombobulated movement into an electoral powerhouse. This ideology, increasingly […]

]]>Israeli voters go to the polls today to elect the next Knesset. Regardless of the outcome, undoubtedly the biggest story of the campaign season has been the rise of Naftali Bennett, a rookie politician who, against the odds, helped religious Zionism grow from a strong but discombobulated movement into an electoral powerhouse. This ideology, increasingly embraced by mainstream, secular Israelis, has its roots in the thinking of two influential rabbis: Abraham Isaac Kook and his son, Zvi Yehuda.

Tablet Magazine’s Liel Leibovitz speaks to Rabbi Shai Held, co-founder and dean of Mechon Hadar, an egalitarian yeshiva in New York, about the Kooks, the history of the religious Zionist movement, and why it is such a force in Israeli politics and culture today. [Running time:39:20.]

]]>http://www.tabletmag.com/podcasts/122015/the-settlers-spiritual-fathers/feed2Israeli voters go to the polls today to elect the next Knesset. Regardless of the outcome, undoubtedly the biggest story of the campaign season has been the rise of Naftali Bennett, a rookie politician who, against the odds, helped religious Zionism grow from a strong but discombobulated movement into an electoral powerhouse. This ideology, increasingly embraced by mainstream, secular Israelis, has its roots in the thinking of two influential rabbis: Abraham Isaac Kook and his son, Zvi Yehuda.
Tablet Magazine’s Liel Leibovitz speaks to Rabbi Shai Held, co-founder and dean of Mechon Hadar, an egalitarian yeshiva in New York, about the Kooks, the history of the religious Zionist movement, and why it is such a force in Israeli politics and culture today. [Running time:39:20.]
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<p>Israeli voters go to the polls today to elect the next Knesset. Regardless of the outcome, undoubtedly the biggest story of the campaign season has been the rise of Naftali Bennett, a rookie politician who, against the odds, helped [...]Pantsless in Jerusalemhttp://www.tabletmag.com/podcasts/121676/pantsless-in-jerusalem
http://www.tabletmag.com/podcasts/121676/pantsless-in-jerusalem#commentsWed, 16 Jan 2013 15:00:30 +0000http://www.tabletmag.com/?p=121676When reporter Daniel Estrin first heard through the grapevine that Jerusalemites were planning on participating in the international 12th annual No Pants Subway Ride, he thought: This cannot go well. For those who aren’t familiar, the No Pants Subway Ride invites participants to ride together without acknowledging one another or the fact that they are […]

]]>When reporter Daniel Estrin first heard through the grapevine that Jerusalemites were planning on participating in the international 12th annual No Pants Subway Ride, he thought: This cannot go well.

For those who aren’t familiar, the No Pants Subway Ride invites participants to ride together without acknowledging one another or the fact that they are significantly underdressed. (Nudity is not allowed; participants must sport some form of underwear.) Since its inception, it has grown exponentially. Four thousand New Yorkers participated this past Sunday, along with thousands more across the United States and in 17 countries around the world.

But Jerusalem? A town where, in some quarters, visitors may be assaulted for “immodest dress” even when they are fully clothed? Estrin decided to tag along to see how the pantsless commuters fared. His dispatch is the second installment in our Hidden Jerusalem series, which reports on aspects of Jerusalem life that are usually obscured—like underwear. [Running time: 11:37.]

]]>http://www.tabletmag.com/podcasts/121676/pantsless-in-jerusalem/feed9When reporter Daniel Estrin first heard through the grapevine that Jerusalemites were planning on participating in the international 12th annual No Pants Subway Ride, he thought: This cannot go well.
For those who aren’t familiar, the No Pants Subway Ride invites participants to ride together without acknowledging one another or the fact that they are significantly underdressed. (Nudity is not allowed; participants must sport some form of underwear.) Since its inception, it has grown exponentially. Four thousand New Yorkers participated this past Sunday, along with thousands more across the United States and in 17 countries around the world.
But Jerusalem? A town where, in some quarters, visitors may be assaulted for “immodest dress” even when they are fully clothed? Estrin decided to tag along to see how the pantsless commuters fared. His dispatch is the second installment in our Hidden Jerusalem series, which reports on aspects of Jerusalem life that are usually obscured—like underwear. [Running time: 11:37.]
Your browser does not support the audio element.
<p>When reporter Daniel Estrin first heard through the grapevine that Jerusalemites were planning on participating in the international 12th annual No Pants Subway Ride, he thought: This cannot go well. For those who aren’t familiar, the No [...]The Search for a Black Zionhttp://www.tabletmag.com/podcasts/120922/search-for-a-black-zion
http://www.tabletmag.com/podcasts/120922/search-for-a-black-zion#commentsTue, 08 Jan 2013 12:00:23 +0000http://www.tabletmag.com/?p=120922About a decade ago, novelist Emily Raboteau went to Jerusalem to visit a childhood friend who’d made aliyah. The trip provoked yearnings in Raboteau, the biracial daughter of an African-American father and white mother, for a place where she could feel at home, a Zion of her own. Six years later, that yearning led her […]

]]>About a decade ago, novelist Emily Raboteau went to Jerusalem to visit a childhood friend who’d made aliyah. The trip provoked yearnings in Raboteau, the biracial daughter of an African-American father and white mother, for a place where she could feel at home, a Zion of her own. Six years later, that yearning led her to embark on a long journey to learn more about those who leave everything behind in search of a better life in a place they feel they belong. Following in the footsteps of others in the African diaspora, she traveled back to Israel to talk to Ethiopian Jews and African Hebrew Israelites; to Jamaica and Ethiopia to meet with Rastafarians; and to Ghana, home to expats from the United States and elsewhere who wanted to return to the place from which their ancestors were forcibly deported as slaves.

As she chronicles in her new book, Searching for Zion: The Quest for Home in the African Diaspora, Raboteau learned how difficult and disappointing the pursuit of Zion can be and came to recognize Zion less as a geographical destination and more as a place of inner strength and well being. In this episode of Vox Tablet, she speaks with Julie Subrin about these and other discoveries. [Running time:23:28.]

]]>http://www.tabletmag.com/podcasts/120922/search-for-a-black-zion/feed4About a decade ago, novelist Emily Raboteau went to Jerusalem to visit a childhood friend who’d made aliyah. The trip provoked yearnings in Raboteau, the biracial daughter of an African-American father and white mother, for a place where she could feel at home, a Zion of her own. Six years later, that yearning led her to embark on a long journey to learn more about those who leave everything behind in search of a better life in a place they feel they belong. Following in the footsteps of others in the African diaspora, she traveled back to Israel to talk to Ethiopian Jews and African Hebrew Israelites; to Jamaica and Ethiopia to meet with Rastafarians; and to Ghana, home to expats from the United States and elsewhere who wanted to return to the place from which their ancestors were forcibly deported as slaves.
As she chronicles in her new book, Searching for Zion: The Quest for Home in the African Diaspora, Raboteau learned how difficult and disappointing the pursuit of Zion can be and came to recognize Zion less as a geographical destination and more as a place of inner strength and well being. In this episode of Vox Tablet, she speaks with Julie Subrin about these and other discoveries. [Running time:23:28.]
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<p>About a decade ago, novelist Emily Raboteau went to Jerusalem to visit a childhood friend who’d made aliyah. The trip provoked yearnings in Raboteau, the biracial daughter of an African-American father and white mother, for a place where [...]Rock ’n’ Remembrancehttp://www.tabletmag.com/podcasts/120387/rock-n-remembrance
http://www.tabletmag.com/podcasts/120387/rock-n-remembrance#commentsMon, 31 Dec 2012 12:00:29 +0000http://www.tabletmag.com/?p=120387Lily Brett didn’t care much for rock ’n’ roll, but her job was with a rock magazine, so, reluctantly, she hung out with Mick Jagger. And Jimi Hendrix. And the Who and Cat Stevens and Jim Morrison and just about any great rock star you can think of. It was the ’60s, before musicians had publicists and armies of […]

]]>Lily Brett didn’t care much for rock ’n’ roll, but her job was with a rock magazine, so, reluctantly, she hung out with Mick Jagger. And Jimi Hendrix. And the Who and Cat Stevens and Jim Morrison and just about any great rock star you can think of. It was the ’60s, before musicians had publicists and armies of assistants, so Brett could ask them just about anything she wanted. She did, which often meant she would ask the rock stars about their parents or tell them about hers, two Holocaust survivors who had given birth to their only daughter in a German DP camp. The result was powerful journalism that helped cement Brett’s reputation as one of her profession’s brightest stars. She’s also an acclaimed novelist: Earlier this year, her latest work of fiction, Lola Bensky, was released in her native Australia. It’s about a young woman, the daughter of Holocaust survivors, who becomes a rock journalist and travels to England and America and meets some of rock ’n’ roll’s most legendary performers and has the kinds of conversations you’d never expect with the sort of men you’d never think were capable of talking about much more then themselves. Tablet Magazine’s Liel Leibovitz spoke with Lily Brett about fame, fear, and rock ’n’ roll. [Running time: 31:00.]

]]>http://www.tabletmag.com/podcasts/120387/rock-n-remembrance/feed2Lily Brett didn’t care much for rock ’n’ roll, but her job was with a rock magazine, so, reluctantly, she hung out with Mick Jagger. And Jimi Hendrix. And the Who and Cat Stevens and Jim Morrison and just about any great rock star you can think of. It was the ’60s, before musicians had publicists and armies of assistants, so Brett could ask them just about anything she wanted. She did, which often meant she would ask the rock stars about their parents or tell them about hers, two Holocaust survivors who had given birth to their only daughter in a German DP camp. The result was powerful journalism that helped cement Brett’s reputation as one of her profession’s brightest stars. She’s also an acclaimed novelist: Earlier this year, her latest work of fiction, Lola Bensky, was released in her native Australia. It’s about a young woman, the daughter of Holocaust survivors, who becomes a rock journalist and travels to England and America and meets some of rock ’n’ roll’s most legendary performers and has the kinds of conversations you’d never expect with the sort of men you’d never think were capable of talking about much more then themselves. Tablet Magazine’s Liel Leibovitz spoke with Lily Brett about fame, fear, and rock ’n’ roll. [Running time: 31:00.]
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<p>Lily Brett didn’t care much for rock ’n’ roll, but her job was with a rock magazine, so, reluctantly, she hung out with Mick Jagger. And Jimi Hendrix. And the Who and Cat Stevens and Jim Morrison and just about any great rock star [...]Joel Meyerowitz Looks Backhttp://www.tabletmag.com/podcasts/119321/joel-meyerowitz-looks-back
http://www.tabletmag.com/podcasts/119321/joel-meyerowitz-looks-back#respondMon, 17 Dec 2012 12:00:32 +0000http://www.tabletmag.com/?p=119321Joel Meyerowitz has had many careers as a photographer over the past 50 years. He first made a name for himself at 24 as a New York City street photographer in the tradition of Robert Frank. A few years later he switched to color photography at a time when most art critics and gallerists dismissed […]

]]>Joel Meyerowitz has had many careers as a photographer over the past 50 years. He first made a name for himself at 24 as a New York City street photographer in the tradition of Robert Frank. A few years later he switched to color photography at a time when most art critics and gallerists dismissed it as too “commercial.” Later, Meyerowitz delved into landscape photography and portraits. Then, in the months after Sept. 11, 2001, he became the self-designated archivist of Ground Zero, persuading city authorities to grant him complete access to the site despite the fact that it had been designated a crime scene.

This month, Meyerowitz’s half-century of work is being honored with a two-part retrospective at the Howard Greenberg Gallery in New York City and with the publication of a deluxe, two-volume limited-edition monograph of that work titled Taking My Time. (You can also get a sense of his work in our slideshow, above left.) Vox Tablet invited Meyerowitz to talk about how his Jewish family and upbringing have influenced his photography. He speaks with guest host Julie Burstein, author of Spark: How Creativity Works, about the Bronx tenements where he grew up; about his father the dry-cleaning-supplies salesman, boxer, and Catskills emcee; and about the spiritual weight he felt at Ground Zero during the months he spent there. [Running time: 45:16.]Your browser does not support the audio element.

For listeners who might want a preview of the longer conversation, here’s a short clip where Meyerowitz recalls the day he decided to become a photographer. It was 1962. He was working at a New York City ad agency and had been sent by his art director to accompany a photographer who was taking photos for a pamphlet he’d written. The photographer was Robert Frank. Seeing this master in action was a revelation to Meyerowitz and changed his career from that point forward. Here’s what happened next:Your browser does not support the audio element.

]]>http://www.tabletmag.com/podcasts/119321/joel-meyerowitz-looks-back/feed0Joel Meyerowitz has had many careers as a photographer over the past 50 years. He first made a name for himself at 24 as a New York City street photographer in the tradition of Robert Frank. A few years later he switched to color photography at a time when most art critics and gallerists dismissed it as too “commercial.” Later, Meyerowitz delved into landscape photography and portraits. Then, in the months after Sept. 11, 2001, he became the self-designated archivist of Ground Zero, persuading city authorities to grant him complete access to the site despite the fact that it had been designated a crime scene.
This month, Meyerowitz’s half-century of work is being honored with a two-part retrospective at the Howard Greenberg Gallery in New York City and with the publication of a deluxe, two-volume limited-edition monograph of that work titled Taking My Time. (You can also get a sense of his work in our slideshow, above left.) Vox Tablet invited Meyerowitz to talk about how his Jewish family and upbringing have influenced his photography. He speaks with guest host Julie Burstein, author of Spark: How Creativity Works, about the Bronx tenements where he grew up; about his father the dry-cleaning-supplies salesman, boxer, and Catskills emcee; and about the spiritual weight he felt at Ground Zero during the months he spent there. [Running time: 45:16.]
Your browser does not support the audio element.
For listeners who might want a preview of the longer conversation, here’s a short clip where Meyerowitz recalls the day he decided to become a photographer. It was 1962. He was working at a New York City ad agency and had been sent by his art director to accompany a photographer who was taking photos for a pamphlet he’d written. The photographer was Robert Frank. Seeing this master in action was a revelation to Meyerowitz and changed his career from that point forward. Here’s what happened next:
Your browser does not support the audio element.
<p>Joel Meyerowitz has had many careers as a photographer over the past 50 years. He first made a name for himself at 24 as a New York City street photographer in the tradition of Robert Frank. A few years later he switched to color [...]The Jews Write Christmas Againhttp://www.tabletmag.com/podcasts/118832/the-jews-write-christmas-again
http://www.tabletmag.com/podcasts/118832/the-jews-write-christmas-again#commentsTue, 11 Dec 2012 12:00:46 +0000http://www.tabletmag.com/?p=118832That Jews wrote many of the most beloved Christmas songs in the holiday songbook is no secret. “White Christmas,” by Irving Berlin, is perhaps the best-known example, but there are countless others, including “Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer” (Johnny Marks), and “Let It Snow, Let It Snow, Let It Snow” (lyricist Sammy Cahn and composer Jule […]

]]>That Jews wrote many of the most beloved Christmas songs in the holiday songbook is no secret. “White Christmas,” by Irving Berlin, is perhaps the best-known example, but there are countless others, including “Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer” (Johnny Marks), and “Let It Snow, Let It Snow, Let It Snow” (lyricist Sammy Cahn and composer Jule Styne). At age 27, Benj Pasek is now in a position to add his name to that illustrious lineage. Pasek is one half of the songwriting team Pasek & Paul. The two met as undergraduates at the University of Michigan, where they wrote their first production, a song cycle about twenty-something confusion called Edges. Several co-productions later, they were brought on to write the music and lyrics to A Christmas Story, adapted from the 1983 blockbuster movie. The show is now on Broadway and has been delighting crowds and critics alike. Pasek speaks with Vox Tablet about how he and partner Justin Paul collaborate, about his own relationship to Christmas, and about his aspirations to apply his musical-theater talents to create more contemporary expressions of Jewish communal life. Guest host Rebecca Soffer, a New York-based writer and producer, is a former Colbert Report producer. Most recently she was the national network coordinator at Reboot. [Running time: 23:06.]

]]>http://www.tabletmag.com/podcasts/118832/the-jews-write-christmas-again/feed8That Jews wrote many of the most beloved Christmas songs in the holiday songbook is no secret. “White Christmas,” by Irving Berlin, is perhaps the best-known example, but there are countless others, including “Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer” (Johnny Marks), and “Let It Snow, Let It Snow, Let It Snow” (lyricist Sammy Cahn and composer Jule Styne). At age 27, Benj Pasek is now in a position to add his name to that illustrious lineage. Pasek is one half of the songwriting team Pasek & Paul. The two met as undergraduates at the University of Michigan, where they wrote their first production, a song cycle about twenty-something confusion called Edges. Several co-productions later, they were brought on to write the music and lyrics to A Christmas Story, adapted from the 1983 blockbuster movie. The show is now on Broadway and has been delighting crowds and critics alike. Pasek speaks with Vox Tablet about how he and partner Justin Paul collaborate, about his own relationship to Christmas, and about his aspirations to apply his musical-theater talents to create more contemporary expressions of Jewish communal life. Guest host Rebecca Soffer, a New York-based writer and producer, is a former Colbert Report producer. Most recently she was the national network coordinator at Reboot. [Running time: 23:06.]
Your browser does not support the audio element.
<p>That Jews wrote many of the most beloved Christmas songs in the holiday songbook is no secret. “White Christmas,” by Irving Berlin, is perhaps the best-known example, but there are countless others, including “Rudolph the Red-Nosed [...]Old McYankel Had a Farmhttp://www.tabletmag.com/podcasts/117986/old-mcyankel-had-a-farm
http://www.tabletmag.com/podcasts/117986/old-mcyankel-had-a-farm#commentsMon, 03 Dec 2012 12:00:13 +0000http://www.tabletmag.com/?p=117986Last summer, 18people paid anywhere between $2,000 and $4,000 to plant cucumbers, scrub potatoes, and build a chicken coop on 200 acres in Goshen, N.Y., all while speaking in a language few of them know. They were enrolled in the first full session of Yiddish Farm, the brainchild of 26-year-old Naftali Ejdelman. Ejdelman comes by […]

]]>Last summer, 18people paid anywhere between $2,000 and $4,000 to plant cucumbers, scrub potatoes, and build a chicken coop on 200 acres in Goshen, N.Y., all while speaking in a language few of them know. They were enrolled in the first full session of Yiddish Farm, the brainchild of 26-year-old Naftali Ejdelman. Ejdelman comes by his Yiddish honestly; he is the grandson of the late Yiddish professor Mordkhe Schaechter and grew up speaking the language at home. His farming experience, however, is less extensive (as he’s the first to admit). That didn’t stop him from procuring land, recruiting a partner, Yisroel Bass, and launching the first and only Yiddish-language-based shomer-shabbos working organic farm. In September, Vox Tablet sent reporter Nina Porzucki to find out how the farm, and its farmers, were faring. [Running time: 10:40.]

]]>http://www.tabletmag.com/podcasts/117986/old-mcyankel-had-a-farm/feed2Last summer, 18people paid anywhere between $2,000 and $4,000 to plant cucumbers, scrub potatoes, and build a chicken coop on 200 acres in Goshen, N.Y., all while speaking in a language few of them know. They were enrolled in the first full session of Yiddish Farm, the brainchild of 26-year-old Naftali Ejdelman. Ejdelman comes by his Yiddish honestly; he is the grandson of the late Yiddish professor Mordkhe Schaechter and grew up speaking the language at home. His farming experience, however, is less extensive (as he’s the first to admit). That didn’t stop him from procuring land, recruiting a partner, Yisroel Bass, and launching the first and only Yiddish-language-based shomer-shabbos working organic farm. In September, Vox Tablet sent reporter Nina Porzucki to find out how the farm, and its farmers, were faring. [Running time: 10:40.]
Your browser does not support the audio element.
<p>Last summer, 18people paid anywhere between $2,000 and $4,000 to plant cucumbers, scrub potatoes, and build a chicken coop on 200 acres in Goshen, N.Y., all while speaking in a language few of them know. They were enrolled in the first [...]Soccer as a Wartime Prismhttp://www.tabletmag.com/podcasts/117348/soccer-as-a-wartime-prism
http://www.tabletmag.com/podcasts/117348/soccer-as-a-wartime-prism#commentsThu, 22 Nov 2012 12:00:14 +0000http://www.tabletmag.com/?p=117348Growing up in the Netherlands, Simon Kuper was raised on soccer and on stories of the Dutch resistance during World War II. It was only as an adult that Kuper, a columnist for the Financial Times, began to understand the level of complicity on the part of the Dutch: more than 75 percent of the […]

]]>Growing up in the Netherlands, Simon Kuper was raised on soccer and on stories of the Dutch resistance during World War II. It was only as an adult that Kuper, a columnist for the Financial Times, began to understand the level of complicity on the part of the Dutch: more than 75 percent of the Jews in the country were killed during the war. And yet ordinary life—including soccer playing and viewing—continued with little disruption.

In his book Ajax, the Dutch, the War: The Strange Tale of Soccer During Europe’s Darkest Hour (just out in the United States), Kuper looks at soccer culture during the war and offers fresh insight into the treatment of Dutch Jews. In particular, he digs into the archives and institutional memory of Ajax Amsterdam, the country’s premier club and one that has long been associated with the city’s Jews.

Kuper, who has written three other books about soccer, spoke from Paris with Vox Tablet’s Sara Ivry about what he uncovered in his research and about how echoes of wartime anti-Jewish attitudes still reverberate in the Netherlands today. [Running time: 20:54.]

]]>http://www.tabletmag.com/podcasts/117348/soccer-as-a-wartime-prism/feed5Growing up in the Netherlands, Simon Kuper was raised on soccer and on stories of the Dutch resistance during World War II. It was only as an adult that Kuper, a columnist for the Financial Times, began to understand the level of complicity on the part of the Dutch: more than 75 percent of the Jews in the country were killed during the war. And yet ordinary life—including soccer playing and viewing—continued with little disruption.
In his book Ajax, the Dutch, the War: The Strange Tale of Soccer During Europe’s Darkest Hour (just out in the United States), Kuper looks at soccer culture during the war and offers fresh insight into the treatment of Dutch Jews. In particular, he digs into the archives and institutional memory of Ajax Amsterdam, the country’s premier club and one that has long been associated with the city’s Jews.
Kuper, who has written three other books about soccer, spoke from Paris with Vox Tablet’s Sara Ivry about what he uncovered in his research and about how echoes of wartime anti-Jewish attitudes still reverberate in the Netherlands today. [Running time: 20:54.]
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<p>Growing up in the Netherlands, Simon Kuper was raised on soccer and on stories of the Dutch resistance during World War II. It was only as an adult that Kuper, a columnist for the Financial Times, began to understand the level of [...]Cello Genius on the Movehttp://www.tabletmag.com/podcasts/117035/cello-genius-on-the-move
http://www.tabletmag.com/podcasts/117035/cello-genius-on-the-move#commentsTue, 20 Nov 2012 12:00:43 +0000http://www.tabletmag.com/?p=117035It is hard to overstate 30-year-old cellist Alisa Weilerstein’s musical achievements. In 2011, she was named a MacArthur fellow, aka “genius,” for her accomplishments as a musician and as an “advocate for contemporary music.” She is constantly in demand, performing, giving master classes, rehearsing, and recording with the world’s best orchestras. And she’s just released […]

]]>It is hard to overstate 30-year-old cellist Alisa Weilerstein’s musical achievements. In 2011, she was named a MacArthur fellow, aka “genius,” for her accomplishments as a musician and as an “advocate for contemporary music.” She is constantly in demand, performing, giving master classes, rehearsing, and recording with the world’s best orchestras. And she’s just released an album on Decca Classics—the first time the label has signed on a cellist in over 30 years. The CD, Elgar, Carter: Cello Concertos, features concertos by Edward Elgar and Elliott Carter along with Max Bruch’s Kol Nidrei and is conducted by Daniel Barenboim and performed with the Berlin Staatskapelle.

The last few weeks have been particularly tumultuous for her, with the last-minute cancellation of her Carnegie Hall concert because of the danger posed by a crane dangling above the concert hall as a result of Hurricane Sandy, and then the death, at age 103, of Carter, whom she greatly admired. And then there was last week’s last-minute invitation, which she accepted, to play Brahms with the New York Philharmonic, stepping in for the principal cellist, Carter Brey.

Still, she made time to come to the studio, cello in hand, to talk about the new CD and her work with Barenboim, to remember Elliott Carter, and to play, quite beautifully, two movements from Bach’s Cello Suite in C Major. [Running time: 27:45.]

]]>http://www.tabletmag.com/podcasts/117035/cello-genius-on-the-move/feed1It is hard to overstate 30-year-old cellist Alisa Weilerstein’s musical achievements. In 2011, she was named a MacArthur fellow, aka “genius,” for her accomplishments as a musician and as an “advocate for contemporary music.” She is constantly in demand, performing, giving master classes, rehearsing, and recording with the world’s best orchestras. And she’s just released an album on Decca Classics—the first time the label has signed on a cellist in over 30 years. The CD, Elgar, Carter: Cello Concertos, features concertos by Edward Elgar and Elliott Carter along with Max Bruch’s Kol Nidrei and is conducted by Daniel Barenboim and performed with the Berlin Staatskapelle.
The last few weeks have been particularly tumultuous for her, with the last-minute cancellation of her Carnegie Hall concert because of the danger posed by a crane dangling above the concert hall as a result of Hurricane Sandy, and then the death, at age 103, of Carter, whom she greatly admired. And then there was last week’s last-minute invitation, which she accepted, to play Brahms with the New York Philharmonic, stepping in for the principal cellist, Carter Brey.
Still, she made time to come to the studio, cello in hand, to talk about the new CD and her work with Barenboim, to remember Elliott Carter, and to play, quite beautifully, two movements from Bach’s Cello Suite in C Major. [Running time: 27:45.]
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<p>It is hard to overstate 30-year-old cellist Alisa Weilerstein’s musical achievements. In 2011, she was named a MacArthur fellow, aka “genius,” for her accomplishments as a musician and as an “advocate for contemporary music.” She [...]My Hip-Hop Nationhttp://www.tabletmag.com/podcasts/116353/my-hip-hop-nation
http://www.tabletmag.com/podcasts/116353/my-hip-hop-nation#commentsMon, 12 Nov 2012 12:00:34 +0000http://www.tabletmag.com/?p=116353Some people say the way to measure the health of a society is by the status of its women. Others look to the GDP, or to voter turnout. For Tablet’s Liel Liebovitz, it’s a question of beats, rhymes, and samples. When he was 13, Leibovitz had something of a crisis of faith in his home, […]

]]>Some people say the way to measure the health of a society is by the status of its women. Others look to the GDP, or to voter turnout. For Tablet’s Liel Liebovitz, it’s a question of beats, rhymes, and samples. When he was 13, Leibovitz had something of a crisis of faith in his home, as well as his homeland, after his father landed in jail with a 20-year sentence. He could no longer stomach the saccharine tunes that made up the mainstream of 1980s Israeli music. That was when he discovered American hip-hop.

It would take a few years before Israel got a hip-hop scene of its own, and its output, quality, and popularity have waxed and waned in the intervening decades. (We have an essay on some of the best new talent here.) Leibovitz, now living and raising a family in New York, finds that his feelings toward his homeland have followed a parallel course. [Running time: 8:41.]

]]>http://www.tabletmag.com/podcasts/116353/my-hip-hop-nation/feed2Some people say the way to measure the health of a society is by the status of its women. Others look to the GDP, or to voter turnout. For Tablet’s Liel Liebovitz, it’s a question of beats, rhymes, and samples. When he was 13, Leibovitz had something of a crisis of faith in his home, as well as his homeland, after his father landed in jail with a 20-year sentence. He could no longer stomach the saccharine tunes that made up the mainstream of 1980s Israeli music. That was when he discovered American hip-hop.
It would take a few years before Israel got a hip-hop scene of its own, and its output, quality, and popularity have waxed and waned in the intervening decades. (We have an essay on some of the best new talent here.) Leibovitz, now living and raising a family in New York, finds that his feelings toward his homeland have followed a parallel course. [Running time: 8:41.]
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<p>Some people say the way to measure the health of a society is by the status of its women. Others look to the GDP, or to voter turnout. For Tablet’s Liel Liebovitz, it’s a question of beats, rhymes, and samples. When he was 13, [...]Enough Already With Koufaxhttp://www.tabletmag.com/podcasts/115081/enough-already-with-koufax
http://www.tabletmag.com/podcasts/115081/enough-already-with-koufax#commentsMon, 29 Oct 2012 11:00:40 +0000http://www.tabletmag.com/?p=115081At first glance, the appeal of an essay collection titled Jewish Jocks might seem limited to a small, if fervent, readership. In fact, the anthology, edited by former Tablet writer Marc Tracy and New Republic editor Franklin Foer, is lively and full of surprises, even for readers with no horse in this race. In essays […]

]]>At first glance, the appeal of an essay collection titled Jewish Jocks might seem limited to a small, if fervent, readership. In fact, the anthology, edited by former Tablet writer Marc Tracy and New Republic editor Franklin Foer, is lively and full of surprises, even for readers with no horse in this race. In essays by writers as varied as Simon Schama, David Bezmozgis, Emily Bazelon, and David Brooks, there are entries on the usual suspects, such as Barney Ross and Sandy Koufax. But the collection also includes profiles of lesser-known talents like Soviet weightlifter Grigory Novak, Brooklyn-born matador Sidney Frumpkin, as well as downright mediocre (but beloved to some) players like Mets right-fielder Art Shamsky. Finally, there are those included in the collection for the ways they elevated sport (Raiders General Manager Al Davis, sportswriter Robert Lipsyte) or, conversely, besmirched it (basketball point-shaver Jack Molinas, Third Reich-representing fencer Helene Mayer). Vox Tablet’s Sara Ivry is joined by Tracy and Foer to talk about how they determined whom to include and whom to leave out, and about some of their favorite contributions to the collection. [Running time: 25:00.]

]]>http://www.tabletmag.com/podcasts/115081/enough-already-with-koufax/feed7At first glance, the appeal of an essay collection titled Jewish Jocks might seem limited to a small, if fervent, readership. In fact, the anthology, edited by former Tablet writer Marc Tracy and New Republic editor Franklin Foer, is lively and full of surprises, even for readers with no horse in this race. In essays by writers as varied as Simon Schama, David Bezmozgis, Emily Bazelon, and David Brooks, there are entries on the usual suspects, such as Barney Ross and Sandy Koufax. But the collection also includes profiles of lesser-known talents like Soviet weightlifter Grigory Novak, Brooklyn-born matador Sidney Frumpkin, as well as downright mediocre (but beloved to some) players like Mets right-fielder Art Shamsky. Finally, there are those included in the collection for the ways they elevated sport (Raiders General Manager Al Davis, sportswriter Robert Lipsyte) or, conversely, besmirched it (basketball point-shaver Jack Molinas, Third Reich-representing fencer Helene Mayer). Vox Tablet’s Sara Ivry is joined by Tracy and Foer to talk about how they determined whom to include and whom to leave out, and about some of their favorite contributions to the collection. [Running time: 25:00.]
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<p>At first glance, the appeal of an essay collection titled Jewish Jocks might seem limited to a small, if fervent, readership. In fact, the anthology, edited by former Tablet writer Marc Tracy and New Republic editor Franklin Foer, is [...]Holocaust Memoir Scandal Reduxhttp://www.tabletmag.com/podcasts/114447/holocaust-memoir-scandal-redux
http://www.tabletmag.com/podcasts/114447/holocaust-memoir-scandal-redux#commentsMon, 22 Oct 2012 11:00:38 +0000http://www.tabletmag.com/?p=114447In the mid-1990s, East German novelist Benjamin Stein crossed paths with then-celebrated Holocaust memoirist Binjamin Wilkomirski at a literary conference, in a pleasant enough encounter. Soon after, Wilkomirski was exposed as a fraud who had invented his identity as a child Holocaust survivor; in fact he was Christian, born and raised in Switzerland. In The […]

]]>In the mid-1990s, East German novelist Benjamin Stein crossed paths with then-celebrated Holocaust memoirist Binjamin Wilkomirski at a literary conference, in a pleasant enough encounter. Soon after, Wilkomirski was exposed as a fraud who had invented his identity as a child Holocaust survivor; in fact he was Christian, born and raised in Switzerland.

In The Canvas, a novel just translated from German into English, Stein takes that encounter and builds from it a riveting story, told in two parts, about two fictional men who become intimately involved in the rapid rise and subsequent fall of a Wilkomirski-like character named Minsky. One protagonist is Amnon Zichroni, who is sent away from his ultra Orthodox Jerusalem community after he’s discovered reading secular literature. Zichroni remains religious but also pursues training as a psychotherapist and later aids Minsky in delving into his traumatic past. The other protagonist is Jan Wechsler, the writer who exposes Minsky only, it seems, to then flee from his own past in a similar fashion. These two stories meet, literally (and dramatically), at the center of the book—you can begin either with Zichroni’s life or with Weschler’s and must turn the book over to get from one to the other.

Vox Tablet host Sara Ivry speaks with Benjamin Stein about this unusual novel and about the ruptures in his own past, first when as a teen he decided to become a practicing Jew (having been raised in a nonreligious, staunchly Communist family) and later with the fall of the Berlin wall. We also hear from the book’s translator, Brian Zumhagen, whose voice and name may be familiar to New York City listeners from his day job as a news anchor at WNYC. [Running time: 26:42.]

]]>http://www.tabletmag.com/podcasts/114447/holocaust-memoir-scandal-redux/feed1In the mid-1990s, East German novelist Benjamin Stein crossed paths with then-celebrated Holocaust memoirist Binjamin Wilkomirski at a literary conference, in a pleasant enough encounter. Soon after, Wilkomirski was exposed as a fraud who had invented his identity as a child Holocaust survivor; in fact he was Christian, born and raised in Switzerland.
In The Canvas, a novel just translated from German into English, Stein takes that encounter and builds from it a riveting story, told in two parts, about two fictional men who become intimately involved in the rapid rise and subsequent fall of a Wilkomirski-like character named Minsky. One protagonist is Amnon Zichroni, who is sent away from his ultra Orthodox Jerusalem community after he’s discovered reading secular literature. Zichroni remains religious but also pursues training as a psychotherapist and later aids Minsky in delving into his traumatic past. The other protagonist is Jan Wechsler, the writer who exposes Minsky only, it seems, to then flee from his own past in a similar fashion. These two stories meet, literally (and dramatically), at the center of the book—you can begin either with Zichroni’s life or with Weschler’s and must turn the book over to get from one to the other.
Vox Tablet host Sara Ivry speaks with Benjamin Stein about this unusual novel and about the ruptures in his own past, first when as a teen he decided to become a practicing Jew (having been raised in a nonreligious, staunchly Communist family) and later with the fall of the Berlin wall. We also hear from the book’s translator, Brian Zumhagen, whose voice and name may be familiar to New York City listeners from his day job as a news anchor at WNYC. [Running time: 26:42.]
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<p>In the mid-1990s, East German novelist Benjamin Stein crossed paths with then-celebrated Holocaust memoirist Binjamin Wilkomirski at a literary conference, in a pleasant enough encounter. Soon after, Wilkomirski was exposed as a fraud who [...]How Streisand Got Her Starthttp://www.tabletmag.com/podcasts/113628/how-streisand-got-her-start
http://www.tabletmag.com/podcasts/113628/how-streisand-got-her-start#commentsThu, 11 Oct 2012 11:00:43 +0000http://www.tabletmag.com/?p=113628This week, Barbra Streisand returns to Brooklyn for her first public performances in her native borough since moving away more than 50 years ago. News of her homecoming shows was announced in May—with tickets to performances tonight and Saturday selling out months before the $1 billion Barclays Center, where she’ll appear, even opened. How did […]

]]>This week, Barbra Streisand returns to Brooklyn for her first public performances in her native borough since moving away more than 50 years ago. News of her homecoming shows was announced in May—with tickets to performances tonight and Saturday selling out months before the $1 billion Barclays Center, where she’ll appear, even opened.

How did this happen? In 1960, Streisand was a 17-year-old kid from Flatbush trying to make it big in Manhattan. Four years later, she was the country’s top-selling female recording artist and was starring on Broadway as Fanny Brice in Funny Girl. How she and her loyal associates transformed her into a beloved and critically acclaimed star is the subject of Hello, Gorgeous: Becoming Barbra Streisand, a new biography by William Mann. (Mann’s previous subjects include Elizabeth Taylor and Katharine Hepburn.) Mann joins Vox Tablet host Sara Ivry to talk about how Streisand exaggerated her “kooky” persona—since traded in for a more poised demeanor, how she sassed Mike Wallace on national television, and how she capitalized on her nontraditional looks. [Running time: 23:05.]

]]>http://www.tabletmag.com/podcasts/113628/how-streisand-got-her-start/feed7This week, Barbra Streisand returns to Brooklyn for her first public performances in her native borough since moving away more than 50 years ago. News of her homecoming shows was announced in May—with tickets to performances tonight and Saturday selling out months before the $1 billion Barclays Center, where she’ll appear, even opened.
How did this happen? In 1960, Streisand was a 17-year-old kid from Flatbush trying to make it big in Manhattan. Four years later, she was the country’s top-selling female recording artist and was starring on Broadway as Fanny Brice in Funny Girl. How she and her loyal associates transformed her into a beloved and critically acclaimed star is the subject of Hello, Gorgeous: Becoming Barbra Streisand, a new biography by William Mann. (Mann’s previous subjects include Elizabeth Taylor and Katharine Hepburn.) Mann joins Vox Tablet host Sara Ivry to talk about how Streisand exaggerated her “kooky” persona—since traded in for a more poised demeanor, how she sassed Mike Wallace on national television, and how she capitalized on her nontraditional looks. [Running time: 23:05.]
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<p>This week, Barbra Streisand returns to Brooklyn for her first public performances in her native borough since moving away more than 50 years ago. News of her homecoming shows was announced in May—with tickets to performances tonight and [...]Harold Kushner Reads Jobhttp://www.tabletmag.com/podcasts/113001/harold-kushner-reads-job
http://www.tabletmag.com/podcasts/113001/harold-kushner-reads-job#commentsWed, 03 Oct 2012 11:00:36 +0000http://www.tabletmag.com/?p=113001Harold Kushner first brought comfort and insight to many in 1981 with his best-selling self-help book, When Bad Things Happen to Good People. Since then, he’s continued to offer life- and faith-affirming messages, with such titles as When All You’ve Ever Wanted Isn’t Enough, and Living a Life That Matters. Now he returns to his […]

]]>Harold Kushner first brought comfort and insight to many in 1981 with his best-selling self-help book, When Bad Things Happen to Good People. Since then, he’s continued to offer life- and faith-affirming messages, with such titles as When All You’ve Ever Wanted Isn’t Enough, and Living a Life That Matters. Now he returns to his original theme of suffering with The Book of Job: When Bad Things Happened to a Good Person. In Job’s anguish and anger toward God, Kushner finds lessons on how one might remain faithful to a God who does not protect us from suffering.

Kushner talks with Vox Tablet host Sara Ivry about the very personal roots of this exploration, dating back to the 1970s, when his son Aaron was diagnosed with a rare and incurable disease (Aaron died in 1977, at age 14); about the depth and complexity of the Job verses; and about why he believes we must choose between an all-loving God and an all-powerful one. [Running time: 19:57.]

]]>http://www.tabletmag.com/podcasts/113001/harold-kushner-reads-job/feed2Harold Kushner first brought comfort and insight to many in 1981 with his best-selling self-help book, When Bad Things Happen to Good People. Since then, he’s continued to offer life- and faith-affirming messages, with such titles as When All You’ve Ever Wanted Isn’t Enough, and Living a Life That Matters. Now he returns to his original theme of suffering with The Book of Job: When Bad Things Happened to a Good Person. In Job’s anguish and anger toward God, Kushner finds lessons on how one might remain faithful to a God who does not protect us from suffering.
Kushner talks with Vox Tablet host Sara Ivry about the very personal roots of this exploration, dating back to the 1970s, when his son Aaron was diagnosed with a rare and incurable disease (Aaron died in 1977, at age 14); about the depth and complexity of the Job verses; and about why he believes we must choose between an all-loving God and an all-powerful one. [Running time: 19:57.]
Your browser does not support the audio element.
<p>Harold Kushner first brought comfort and insight to many in 1981 with his best-selling self-help book, When Bad Things Happen to Good People. Since then, he’s continued to offer life- and faith-affirming messages, with such titles as [...]Is Israel a Modern Sparta?http://www.tabletmag.com/podcasts/112413/is-israel-a-modern-sparta
http://www.tabletmag.com/podcasts/112413/is-israel-a-modern-sparta#commentsMon, 24 Sep 2012 11:00:24 +0000http://www.tabletmag.com/?p=112413Ever since the founding of the state of Israel, the country’s leaders have favored overwhelming military might over diplomatic finesse in confronting conflicts with their neighbors. Such is the argument made by veteran journalist Patrick Tyler in his new book, Fortress Israel: The Inside Story of the Military Elite Who Run the Country—and Why They […]

]]>Ever since the founding of the state of Israel, the country’s leaders have favored overwhelming military might over diplomatic finesse in confronting conflicts with their neighbors. Such is the argument made by veteran journalist Patrick Tyler in his new book, Fortress Israel: The Inside Story of the Military Elite Who Run the Country—and Why They Can’t Make Peace. Tyler has spent a combined 26 years reporting for the New York Times and the Washington Post, covering the U.S. State Department, the Pentagon, the intelligence community, and the Middle East. In his book, Tyler focuses on the latter, offering a fascinating account of the Israeli military establishment—its victories, defeats, mistakes, and cover-ups. Beginning with David Ben-Gurion and Moshe Dayan in the 1950s and continuing almost up to the present, Tyler details a military mindset that pervades nearly all of Israeli culture and that, as he sees it, has made peace in the region all but impossible.

Tyler speaks with Vox Tablet host Sara Ivry about the similarities between the ancient Greek warrior state of Sparta and modern Israel, about the “sabra code” to which Israel’s leaders largely adhere, and about the influence of the past on the current stand-off with Iran. [Running time: 22:48.]

]]>http://www.tabletmag.com/podcasts/112413/is-israel-a-modern-sparta/feed71Ever since the founding of the state of Israel, the country’s leaders have favored overwhelming military might over diplomatic finesse in confronting conflicts with their neighbors. Such is the argument made by veteran journalist Patrick Tyler in his new book, Fortress Israel: The Inside Story of the Military Elite Who Run the Country—and Why They Can’t Make Peace. Tyler has spent a combined 26 years reporting for the New York Times and the Washington Post, covering the U.S. State Department, the Pentagon, the intelligence community, and the Middle East. In his book, Tyler focuses on the latter, offering a fascinating account of the Israeli military establishment—its victories, defeats, mistakes, and cover-ups. Beginning with David Ben-Gurion and Moshe Dayan in the 1950s and continuing almost up to the present, Tyler details a military mindset that pervades nearly all of Israeli culture and that, as he sees it, has made peace in the region all but impossible.
Tyler speaks with Vox Tablet host Sara Ivry about the similarities between the ancient Greek warrior state of Sparta and modern Israel, about the “sabra code” to which Israel’s leaders largely adhere, and about the influence of the past on the current stand-off with Iran. [Running time: 22:48.]
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<p>Ever since the founding of the state of Israel, the country’s leaders have favored overwhelming military might over diplomatic finesse in confronting conflicts with their neighbors. Such is the argument made by veteran journalist Patrick [...]Meyer Levin’s Anne Frankhttp://www.tabletmag.com/podcasts/112171/meyer-levins-anne-frank
http://www.tabletmag.com/podcasts/112171/meyer-levins-anne-frank#commentsFri, 14 Sep 2012 11:00:25 +0000http://www.tabletmag.com/?p=112171In 1952, Meyer Levin had every reason to believe he would bring Anne Frank’s diary to the stage. Levin, an American who served as a war correspondent in Europe during World War II, first came across Frank’s diary in a Paris bookshop in 1951. He immediately contacted Frank’s father, Otto, and was instrumental in getting […]

]]>In 1952, Meyer Levin had every reason to believe he would bring Anne Frank’s diary to the stage. Levin, an American who served as a war correspondent in Europe during World War II, first came across Frank’s diary in a Paris bookshop in 1951. He immediately contacted Frank’s father, Otto, and was instrumental in getting the book published in the United States, and then in attracting the interest of readers, thanks to a glowing review he wrote for the New York Times.

Otto Frank granted Levin the rights to adapt the diary for stage, but Levin would never see that dream realized. The production only got as far as a preliminary radio play. It’s hard to pin down why. Some say the Anne Frank that Levin was so moved by—indeed revered—was too Jewish a character for early 1950s American audiences. Others say Levin’s difficult personality and lack of writing ability scuttled the project. Either way, Levin eventually relinquished the stage rights, shunned by Frank and his cohort. The failure left Levin embittered.

Now, three decades after Levin’s death, L.A. based theater director Jennifer Strome is resurrecting Meyer Levin’s Anne Frank, with a new production of Levin’s 35-minute radio play. Sixty years after its poorly received national broadcast, Levin’s rendering of Anne Frank will meet a new audience, one perhaps better equipped to judge her authenticity. Strome’s production will be available as a podcast from Sept. 15 to 18 here. Producer Eric Molinsky brings us the story of Meyer Levin and his legacy. [Running time: 10:43.]

]]>http://www.tabletmag.com/podcasts/112171/meyer-levins-anne-frank/feed6In 1952, Meyer Levin had every reason to believe he would bring Anne Frank’s diary to the stage. Levin, an American who served as a war correspondent in Europe during World War II, first came across Frank’s diary in a Paris bookshop in 1951. He immediately contacted Frank’s father, Otto, and was instrumental in getting the book published in the United States, and then in attracting the interest of readers, thanks to a glowing review he wrote for the New York Times.
Otto Frank granted Levin the rights to adapt the diary for stage, but Levin would never see that dream realized. The production only got as far as a preliminary radio play. It’s hard to pin down why. Some say the Anne Frank that Levin was so moved by—indeed revered—was too Jewish a character for early 1950s American audiences. Others say Levin’s difficult personality and lack of writing ability scuttled the project. Either way, Levin eventually relinquished the stage rights, shunned by Frank and his cohort. The failure left Levin embittered.
Now, three decades after Levin’s death, L.A. based theater director Jennifer Strome is resurrecting Meyer Levin’s Anne Frank, with a new production of Levin’s 35-minute radio play. Sixty years after its poorly received national broadcast, Levin’s rendering of Anne Frank will meet a new audience, one perhaps better equipped to judge her authenticity. Strome’s production will be available as a podcast from Sept. 15 to 18 here. Producer Eric Molinsky brings us the story of Meyer Levin and his legacy. [Running time: 10:43.]
Your browser does not support the audio element.
<p>In 1952, Meyer Levin had every reason to believe he would bring Anne Frank’s diary to the stage. Levin, an American who served as a war correspondent in Europe during World War II, first came across Frank’s diary in a Paris bookshop in [...]Jewish Guys on the Sidehttp://www.tabletmag.com/podcasts/111383/jewish-guys-on-the-side
http://www.tabletmag.com/podcasts/111383/jewish-guys-on-the-side#commentsMon, 10 Sep 2012 11:00:27 +0000http://www.tabletmag.com/?p=111383Hanna Rosin’s new book The End of Men argues that changes in the U.S. economy—specifically the vast reduction of manufacturing jobs combined with growth in health, human resources, education, and other traditionally female-dominated professions—are leaving men in the dust in corporate culture, at universities, in families, and in popular culture. To what extent are these […]

]]>Hanna Rosin’s new book The End of Men argues that changes in the U.S. economy—specifically the vast reduction of manufacturing jobs combined with growth in health, human resources, education, and other traditionally female-dominated professions—are leaving men in the dust in corporate culture, at universities, in families, and in popular culture. To what extent are these trends reflected in Jewish American communal life and leadership?

Vox Tablet host Sara Ivry is joined by Andy Bachman, rabbi of Congregation Beth Elohim in Brooklyn (and U.S. history and politics buff), and Shifra Bronznick, founding president of Advancing Women Professionals and the Jewish Community, to discuss Rosin’s thesis, and how it might resonate in a Jewish context. They speak as Jewish leaders, as people who are privy to the private concerns of Jewish men and women who are struggling with these changes, and as parents of sons and daughters who will have to navigate this new world. [Running time: 23:18.]

]]>http://www.tabletmag.com/podcasts/111383/jewish-guys-on-the-side/feed5Hanna Rosin’s new book The End of Men argues that changes in the U.S. economy—specifically the vast reduction of manufacturing jobs combined with growth in health, human resources, education, and other traditionally female-dominated professions—are leaving men in the dust in corporate culture, at universities, in families, and in popular culture. To what extent are these trends reflected in Jewish American communal life and leadership?
Vox Tablet host Sara Ivry is joined by Andy Bachman, rabbi of Congregation Beth Elohim in Brooklyn (and U.S. history and politics buff), and Shifra Bronznick, founding president of Advancing Women Professionals and the Jewish Community, to discuss Rosin’s thesis, and how it might resonate in a Jewish context. They speak as Jewish leaders, as people who are privy to the private concerns of Jewish men and women who are struggling with these changes, and as parents of sons and daughters who will have to navigate this new world. [Running time: 23:18.]
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<p>Hanna Rosin’s new book The End of Men argues that changes in the U.S. economy—specifically the vast reduction of manufacturing jobs combined with growth in health, human resources, education, and other traditionally female-dominated [...]New Songs for Old Prayershttp://www.tabletmag.com/podcasts/110585/new-songs-for-old-prayers
http://www.tabletmag.com/podcasts/110585/new-songs-for-old-prayers#commentsTue, 04 Sep 2012 11:00:08 +0000http://www.tabletmag.com/?p=110585Zach Fredman is a musician, composer, and rabbi-in-training now in his fifth year at the Jewish Theological Seminary. Over the past several years, he has worked to combine his spiritual and musical passions by composing devotional songs that draw on his favorite musical traditions. Those include Indian raga, North African rhythms and forms of chanting, […]

]]>Zach Fredman is a musician, composer, and rabbi-in-training now in his fifth year at the Jewish Theological Seminary. Over the past several years, he has worked to combine his spiritual and musical passions by composing devotional songs that draw on his favorite musical traditions. Those include Indian raga, North African rhythms and forms of chanting, as well as the Grateful Dead and Aretha Franklin.

For lyrics, he turned to Torah and other religious texts. For collaborators, he turned to musicians whose work, like his, isn’t easily categorized. Perhaps most surprising is his singer Alsarah, a Muslim woman who grew up in Sudan and Yemen, went to Wesleyan University, and now leads the band Alsarah and the Nubatones from her base in Crown Heights, Brooklyn. Together, the 10-person band, which is called the Epichorus, is releasing their first album, One Bead, available here at the end of this week.

Vox Tablet host Sara Ivry talks with Zach Fredman and Alsarah in Fredman’s Harlem apartment about their musical influences, what they’re trying to accomplish with this project, and how they owe their collaboration, at least in part, to a late night YouTube bender. [Running time: 21:54.]

]]>http://www.tabletmag.com/podcasts/110585/new-songs-for-old-prayers/feed6Zach Fredman is a musician, composer, and rabbi-in-training now in his fifth year at the Jewish Theological Seminary. Over the past several years, he has worked to combine his spiritual and musical passions by composing devotional songs that draw on his favorite musical traditions. Those include Indian raga, North African rhythms and forms of chanting, as well as the Grateful Dead and Aretha Franklin.
For lyrics, he turned to Torah and other religious texts. For collaborators, he turned to musicians whose work, like his, isn’t easily categorized. Perhaps most surprising is his singer Alsarah, a Muslim woman who grew up in Sudan and Yemen, went to Wesleyan University, and now leads the band Alsarah and the Nubatones from her base in Crown Heights, Brooklyn. Together, the 10-person band, which is called the Epichorus, is releasing their first album, One Bead, available here at the end of this week.
Vox Tablet host Sara Ivry talks with Zach Fredman and Alsarah in Fredman’s Harlem apartment about their musical influences, what they’re trying to accomplish with this project, and how they owe their collaboration, at least in part, to a late night YouTube bender. [Running time: 21:54.]
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<p>Zach Fredman is a musician, composer, and rabbi-in-training now in his fifth year at the Jewish Theological Seminary. Over the past several years, he has worked to combine his spiritual and musical passions by composing devotional songs [...]Member of the Tribehttp://www.tabletmag.com/podcasts/110190/member-of-the-tribe
http://www.tabletmag.com/podcasts/110190/member-of-the-tribe#commentsMon, 27 Aug 2012 11:00:07 +0000http://www.tabletmag.com/?p=110190When Theodore Ross moved with his newly divorced mother and brother to the Gulf Coast of Mississippi at age 9, the family pretended not to be Jewish. This deceit was his mother’s idea, and years later it led Ted to question whether he should consider himself a Jew at all, having been discouraged from embracing […]

]]>When Theodore Ross moved with his newly divorced mother and brother to the Gulf Coast of Mississippi at age 9, the family pretended not to be Jewish. This deceit was his mother’s idea, and years later it led Ted to question whether he should consider himself a Jew at all, having been discouraged from embracing any religious identification as a young person. In recent years, the desire to answer that question led him to seek out other Jews who are outliers in some way, from crypto-Jews in the Southwest, to the “lost tribe” Ethiopian Jews now resettled in Israel, to ultra-Orthodox Jews in Brooklyn who welcome him into their homes for Shabbat.

Ross writes about these journeys in Am I a Jew? Lost Tribes, Lapsed Jews, and One Man’s Search for Himself. He joins Vox Tablet host Sara Ivry to talk about why his mother demanded that he hide his religious identity, what it was like pretending not to be entirely himself, and why he chose to spend time with non-mainstream Jews as a way to re-engage with what being Jewish might mean for him. [Running time: 18:50.]

]]>http://www.tabletmag.com/podcasts/110190/member-of-the-tribe/feed18When Theodore Ross moved with his newly divorced mother and brother to the Gulf Coast of Mississippi at age 9, the family pretended not to be Jewish. This deceit was his mother’s idea, and years later it led Ted to question whether he should consider himself a Jew at all, having been discouraged from embracing any religious identification as a young person. In recent years, the desire to answer that question led him to seek out other Jews who are outliers in some way, from crypto-Jews in the Southwest, to the “lost tribe” Ethiopian Jews now resettled in Israel, to ultra-Orthodox Jews in Brooklyn who welcome him into their homes for Shabbat.
Ross writes about these journeys in Am I a Jew? Lost Tribes, Lapsed Jews, and One Man’s Search for Himself. He joins Vox Tablet host Sara Ivry to talk about why his mother demanded that he hide his religious identity, what it was like pretending not to be entirely himself, and why he chose to spend time with non-mainstream Jews as a way to re-engage with what being Jewish might mean for him. [Running time: 18:50.]
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<p>When Theodore Ross moved with his newly divorced mother and brother to the Gulf Coast of Mississippi at age 9, the family pretended not to be Jewish. This deceit was his mother’s idea, and years later it led Ted to question whether he [...]The New Sound of Central Asiahttp://www.tabletmag.com/podcasts/109000/the-new-sound-of-central-asia
http://www.tabletmag.com/podcasts/109000/the-new-sound-of-central-asia#commentsMon, 20 Aug 2012 11:00:23 +0000http://www.tabletmag.com/?p=109000Originally from Dushanbe, the capital of Tajikistan, and now based in and around Tel Aviv, the Alaev Family includes three generations of musicians. They’re led by Allo Alaev, the family patriarch, who’s now 80 and who spent 50 years as a percussionist with the Folk Opera of Dushanbe. These days he leads the seven-person family […]

]]>Originally from Dushanbe, the capital of Tajikistan, and now based in and around Tel Aviv, the Alaev Family includes three generations of musicians. They’re led by Allo Alaev, the family patriarch, who’s now 80 and who spent 50 years as a percussionist with the Folk Opera of Dushanbe. These days he leads the seven-person family ensemble, which includes his sons and grandchildren. Together, they update traditional Jewish and Central Asian folk songs to create a propulsive and almost ecstatic new sound.

This month, the Alaevs concluded a world tour with a gig at Lincoln Center’s Out of Doors Festival. They also have a new CD, produced with Tamir Muskat, the drummer of the high-energy dance band Balkan Beat Box. And, come fall, they’ll be hitting the road once again, bringing their singular sound to the Netherlands and South Africa. Vox Tablet host Sara Ivry met most of the Alaev family in their midtown Manhattan hotel just days before their Lincoln Center performance. They spoke about how they came by their musical talent and about the origins of the songs they perform. And, periodically, they broke into spontaneous song. [Running time: 15:30.]

]]>http://www.tabletmag.com/podcasts/109000/the-new-sound-of-central-asia/feed1Originally from Dushanbe, the capital of Tajikistan, and now based in and around Tel Aviv, the Alaev Family includes three generations of musicians. They’re led by Allo Alaev, the family patriarch, who’s now 80 and who spent 50 years as a percussionist with the Folk Opera of Dushanbe. These days he leads the seven-person family ensemble, which includes his sons and grandchildren. Together, they update traditional Jewish and Central Asian folk songs to create a propulsive and almost ecstatic new sound.
This month, the Alaevs concluded a world tour with a gig at Lincoln Center’s Out of Doors Festival. They also have a new CD, produced with Tamir Muskat, the drummer of the high-energy dance band Balkan Beat Box. And, come fall, they’ll be hitting the road once again, bringing their singular sound to the Netherlands and South Africa. Vox Tablet host Sara Ivry met most of the Alaev family in their midtown Manhattan hotel just days before their Lincoln Center performance. They spoke about how they came by their musical talent and about the origins of the songs they perform. And, periodically, they broke into spontaneous song. [Running time: 15:30.]
Your browser does not support the audio element.
<p>Originally from Dushanbe, the capital of Tajikistan, and now based in and around Tel Aviv, the Alaev Family includes three generations of musicians. They’re led by Allo Alaev, the family patriarch, who’s now 80 and who spent 50 years [...]David Rakoff Reads Bambihttp://www.tabletmag.com/podcasts/108968/david-rakoff-reads-bambi
http://www.tabletmag.com/podcasts/108968/david-rakoff-reads-bambi#commentsFri, 10 Aug 2012 15:35:48 +0000http://www.tabletmag.com/?p=108968David Rakoff, a contributor to our site, died Aug. 9, 2012, after a battle with cancer. He was 47. Some years ago, Rakoff wrote an essay on the life and work of Viennese writer Felix Salten. The creator of Bambi, Salten was a European Jew who wrote soft porn and a prominent critic in early 20th-century […]

]]>David Rakoff, a contributor to our site, died Aug. 9, 2012, after a battle with cancer. He was 47.

Some years ago, Rakoff wrote an essay on the life and work of Viennese writer Felix Salten. The creator of Bambi, Salten was a European Jew who wrote soft porn and a prominent critic in early 20th-century Austria. In concert with this essay, Rakoff joined Vox Tablet host Sara Ivry for a podcast conversation about the brutality in Bambi, about Salten’s place in literary society, and about the dark side of fairy tales—and life.

We re-run this piece now to celebrate David Rakoff, whose wit, warmth, and grace come across in every utterance, and whose reading of a particularly wrenching scene from Bambi gives a sense both of the work’s violence and of Rakoff’s own captivating voice. [Running time: 19:12.]

]]>http://www.tabletmag.com/podcasts/108968/david-rakoff-reads-bambi/feed1David Rakoff, a contributor to our site, died Aug. 9, 2012, after a battle with cancer. He was 47.
Some years ago, Rakoff wrote an essay on the life and work of Viennese writer Felix Salten. The creator of Bambi, Salten was a European Jew who wrote soft porn and a prominent critic in early 20th-century Austria. In concert with this essay, Rakoff joined Vox Tablet host Sara Ivry for a podcast conversation about the brutality in Bambi, about Salten’s place in literary society, and about the dark side of fairy tales—and life.
We re-run this piece now to celebrate David Rakoff, whose wit, warmth, and grace come across in every utterance, and whose reading of a particularly wrenching scene from Bambi gives a sense both of the work’s violence and of Rakoff’s own captivating voice. [Running time: 19:12.]
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May his memory be for a blessing.
<p>David Rakoff, a contributor to our site, died Aug. 9, 2012, after a battle with cancer. He was 47. Some years ago, Rakoff wrote an essay on the life and work of Viennese writer Felix Salten. The creator of Bambi, Salten was a European Jew [...]Florida’s Airport Ambassadorhttp://www.tabletmag.com/podcasts/70815/welcome-wagon
http://www.tabletmag.com/podcasts/70815/welcome-wagon#respondMon, 06 Aug 2012 11:00:52 +0000http://www.tabletmag.com/?p=70815Most of us would just as soon avoid airports, with their long lines and testy patrons. But Betty Sussman thrives there. She is one of approximately 90 volunteers who work a four-hour shift each week at the Palm Beach International Airport, greeting visitors as “airport ambassadors.” Sussman (who turns 81 this month) is not your […]

]]>Most of us would just as soon avoid airports, with their long lines and testy patrons. But Betty Sussman thrives there. She is one of approximately 90 volunteers who work a four-hour shift each week at the Palm Beach International Airport, greeting visitors as “airport ambassadors.” Sussman (who turns 81 this month) is not your typical South Floridian. She is still employed; four days a week she works as an office manager for an ophthalmologist. For her, being an airport ambassador eases some of the loneliness she experiences during the weekend—time she used to spend with her husband before he died six years ago. Plus there are perks: She makes good use of the meal voucher she earns each shift, redeemable at any of the airport’s concessions.

Miami-based radio producer Trina Sargalski trailed Betty on one of her Sunday-morning shifts and sent us this dispatch. This segment, from our archive, first ran on June 27, 2011. [Running time: 7:05.]

]]>http://www.tabletmag.com/podcasts/70815/welcome-wagon/feed0Most of us would just as soon avoid airports, with their long lines and testy patrons. But Betty Sussman thrives there. She is one of approximately 90 volunteers who work a four-hour shift each week at the Palm Beach International Airport, greeting visitors as “airport ambassadors.” Sussman (who turns 81 this month) is not your typical South Floridian. She is still employed; four days a week she works as an office manager for an ophthalmologist. For her, being an airport ambassador eases some of the loneliness she experiences during the weekend—time she used to spend with her husband before he died six years ago. Plus there are perks: She makes good use of the meal voucher she earns each shift, redeemable at any of the airport’s concessions.
Miami-based radio producer Trina Sargalski trailed Betty on one of her Sunday-morning shifts and sent us this dispatch. This segment, from our archive, first ran on June 27, 2011. [Running time: 7:05.]
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<p>Most of us would just as soon avoid airports, with their long lines and testy patrons. But Betty Sussman thrives there. She is one of approximately 90 volunteers who work a four-hour shift each week at the Palm Beach International Airport, [...]Reporter Digs Up Converso Pasthttp://www.tabletmag.com/podcasts/107668/reporter-digs-up-converso-past
http://www.tabletmag.com/podcasts/107668/reporter-digs-up-converso-past#commentsMon, 30 Jul 2012 11:00:14 +0000http://www.tabletmag.com/?p=107668Doreen Carvajal was raised Catholic and had no occasion to question her religious or cultural heritage growing up. Even when she became a journalist (she’s currently a European correspondent for the New York Times and International Herald Tribune) and readers, seeing her byline, wrote to tell her that her last name was a common Sephardic […]

]]>Doreen Carvajal was raised Catholic and had no occasion to question her religious or cultural heritage growing up. Even when she became a journalist (she’s currently a European correspondent for the New York Times and International Herald Tribune) and readers, seeing her byline, wrote to tell her that her last name was a common Sephardic Jewish name, she remained incurious. It took moving to Arcos de la Frontera, an ancient town in Andalusia, Spain, for her to finally confront the likelihood that her ancestors were conversos—that is, Spanish Jews who 600 years ago converted to Christianity rather than face death or exile during the Inquisition.

In a new memoir, The Forgetting River, Carvajal describes her search for definitive answers to questions about her identity. That search took her to Costa Rica, university archives and genetic specialists, frontier towns in Spain, and her own cache of forgotten memories and keepsakes. She speaks with Vox Tablet host Sara Ivry about what she found out. [Running time: 17:30.]

]]>http://www.tabletmag.com/podcasts/107668/reporter-digs-up-converso-past/feed5Doreen Carvajal was raised Catholic and had no occasion to question her religious or cultural heritage growing up. Even when she became a journalist (she’s currently a European correspondent for the New York Times and International Herald Tribune) and readers, seeing her byline, wrote to tell her that her last name was a common Sephardic Jewish name, she remained incurious. It took moving to Arcos de la Frontera, an ancient town in Andalusia, Spain, for her to finally confront the likelihood that her ancestors were conversos—that is, Spanish Jews who 600 years ago converted to Christianity rather than face death or exile during the Inquisition.
In a new memoir, The Forgetting River, Carvajal describes her search for definitive answers to questions about her identity. That search took her to Costa Rica, university archives and genetic specialists, frontier towns in Spain, and her own cache of forgotten memories and keepsakes. She speaks with Vox Tablet host Sara Ivry about what she found out. [Running time: 17:30.]
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<p>Doreen Carvajal was raised Catholic and had no occasion to question her religious or cultural heritage growing up. Even when she became a journalist (she’s currently a European correspondent for the New York Times and International [...]What Went Wrong in Munichhttp://www.tabletmag.com/podcasts/106685/what-went-wrong-in-munich
http://www.tabletmag.com/podcasts/106685/what-went-wrong-in-munich#respondMon, 23 Jul 2012 11:00:40 +0000http://www.tabletmag.com/?p=106685With the start of the Summer Olympics just days away, the International Olympic Committee remains firm in its insistence that there will be no commemoration marking the tragedy that took place 40 years ago, at the 1972 Olympic Games in Munich, Germany. It was there that 11 Israeli athletes and coaches were taken hostage and […]

]]>With the start of the Summer Olympics just days away, the International Olympic Committee remains firm in its insistence that there will be no commemoration marking the tragedy that took place 40 years ago, at the 1972 Olympic Games in Munich, Germany. It was there that 11 Israeli athletes and coaches were taken hostage and then murdered by a Palestinian terrorist group known as Black September. A German police officer and five of the hostage-takers also died in the standoff.

The United States, Germany, Australia, and Israel have called for a public remembrance at this summer’s games in London. Their efforts have been for naught. The IOC says it does not want to “politicize” the event with a memorial service even while international pressure—including from President Obama—to hold such a commemoration mounts.

David Clay Large is a historian of modern Germany who has written about the 1936 Berlin Olympics, Munich under Nazi rule, and, most recently, about the 1972 Olympic Games. He joins Vox Tablet host Sara Ivry to discuss what role Germany’s and Israel’s national identity played in the events leading up to the 1972 massacre, how the event is remembered in Germany and Israel today, and why the IOC is disingenuous in its refusal to have a memorial service this summer. [Running time: 22:00.]

]]>http://www.tabletmag.com/podcasts/106685/what-went-wrong-in-munich/feed0With the start of the Summer Olympics just days away, the International Olympic Committee remains firm in its insistence that there will be no commemoration marking the tragedy that took place 40 years ago, at the 1972 Olympic Games in Munich, Germany. It was there that 11 Israeli athletes and coaches were taken hostage and then murdered by a Palestinian terrorist group known as Black September. A German police officer and five of the hostage-takers also died in the standoff.
The United States, Germany, Australia, and Israel have called for a public remembrance at this summer’s games in London. Their efforts have been for naught. The IOC says it does not want to “politicize” the event with a memorial service even while international pressure—including from President Obama—to hold such a commemoration mounts.
David Clay Large is a historian of modern Germany who has written about the 1936 Berlin Olympics, Munich under Nazi rule, and, most recently, about the 1972 Olympic Games. He joins Vox Tablet host Sara Ivry to discuss what role Germany’s and Israel’s national identity played in the events leading up to the 1972 massacre, how the event is remembered in Germany and Israel today, and why the IOC is disingenuous in its refusal to have a memorial service this summer. [Running time: 22:00.]
Your browser does not support the audio element.
<p>With the start of the Summer Olympics just days away, the International Olympic Committee remains firm in its insistence that there will be no commemoration marking the tragedy that took place 40 years ago, at the 1972 Olympic Games in [...]Modern Muslim Girlshttp://www.tabletmag.com/podcasts/106561/modern-muslim-girls
http://www.tabletmag.com/podcasts/106561/modern-muslim-girls#commentsWed, 18 Jul 2012 11:00:11 +0000http://www.tabletmag.com/?p=106561Many people think of Islam, or religion generally, as disempowering for girls and women. The Light in Her Eyes, a documentary by Laura Nix and Julia Meltzer, challenges that notion. It follows Houda al-Habash, a conservative Muslim, wife, mother, preacher, and founder of a girls’ religious school in Damascus. In observing al-Habash, her children, students, […]

]]>Many people think of Islam, or religion generally, as disempowering for girls and women. The Light in Her Eyes, a documentary by Laura Nix and Julia Meltzer, challenges that notion. It follows Houda al-Habash, a conservative Muslim, wife, mother, preacher, and founder of a girls’ religious school in Damascus. In observing al-Habash, her children, students, and colleagues at school, at home, in shopping malls, and at outdoor cafés, the film explores how modernity and Muslim faith co-exist, challenging many Western assumptions that such co-existence is a fallacy.

Meltzer and Nix join Vox Tablet host Sara Ivry to talk about the difficulties they had filming as American women—one Jewish, one Christian—in Syria and about their audiences’ reactions to the seemingly contradictory values and aspirations expressed by al-Habash and her students.

The Light in Her Eyes airs on the PBS series “POV” on July 19, 2012, and streams online from July 20 through Aug. 19. You can also see a clip from the film here. [Running time: 18:27.]

]]>http://www.tabletmag.com/podcasts/106561/modern-muslim-girls/feed3Many people think of Islam, or religion generally, as disempowering for girls and women. The Light in Her Eyes, a documentary by Laura Nix and Julia Meltzer, challenges that notion. It follows Houda al-Habash, a conservative Muslim, wife, mother, preacher, and founder of a girls’ religious school in Damascus. In observing al-Habash, her children, students, and colleagues at school, at home, in shopping malls, and at outdoor cafés, the film explores how modernity and Muslim faith co-exist, challenging many Western assumptions that such co-existence is a fallacy.
Meltzer and Nix join Vox Tablet host Sara Ivry to talk about the difficulties they had filming as American women—one Jewish, one Christian—in Syria and about their audiences’ reactions to the seemingly contradictory values and aspirations expressed by al-Habash and her students.
The Light in Her Eyes airs on the PBS series “POV” on July 19, 2012, and streams online from July 20 through Aug. 19. You can also see a clip from the film here. [Running time: 18:27.]
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<p>Many people think of Islam, or religion generally, as disempowering for girls and women. The Light in Her Eyes, a documentary by Laura Nix and Julia Meltzer, challenges that notion. It follows Houda al-Habash, a conservative Muslim, wife, [...]Shtetl-Born Strongmanhttp://www.tabletmag.com/podcasts/105624/shtetl-born-strongman
http://www.tabletmag.com/podcasts/105624/shtetl-born-strongman#commentsMon, 09 Jul 2012 11:00:24 +0000http://www.tabletmag.com/?p=105624In a fortnight, millions of TV viewers will tune in to watch world-class athletes perform acts of great strength and endurance. But a few generations back, at the turn of the last century, long before the Olympic Games became the outsized spectacle that they are today, audiences looking to be entertained by athletic prowess were […]

]]>In a fortnight, millions of TV viewers will tune in to watch world-class athletes perform acts of great strength and endurance. But a few generations back, at the turn of the last century, long before the Olympic Games became the outsized spectacle that they are today, audiences looking to be entertained by athletic prowess were more likely to find it at the fairgrounds, on a vaudeville stage, or along the boardwalk. That’s where strongmen could be found, pulling trucks with their hair or splitting nails with their teeth.

One of the greatest strongmen of all time was one Joseph Greenstein, born Yossele in 1893 in the small Polish town of Suvalk. At a young age, Greenstein ran away to join a Russian circus, then made his way to the Texas oil fields, and finally to Brooklyn, where, as the Mighty Atom, he would earn a place in Ripley’s Believe It or Not and the Guinness Book of World Records for his extraordinary feats (for instance, in 1928, resisting the pull of a plane with a 220 horsepower using ropes tied to his long hair).

The Mighty Atom died in 1977, at age 84. Reporter Jon Kalish presents this profile of him, drawing on archival interviews as well as conversations with his protégés and with his son Mike Greenstein, now 91. [Running time: 12:51.]

]]>http://www.tabletmag.com/podcasts/105624/shtetl-born-strongman/feed8In a fortnight, millions of TV viewers will tune in to watch world-class athletes perform acts of great strength and endurance. But a few generations back, at the turn of the last century, long before the Olympic Games became the outsized spectacle that they are today, audiences looking to be entertained by athletic prowess were more likely to find it at the fairgrounds, on a vaudeville stage, or along the boardwalk. That’s where strongmen could be found, pulling trucks with their hair or splitting nails with their teeth.
One of the greatest strongmen of all time was one Joseph Greenstein, born Yossele in 1893 in the small Polish town of Suvalk. At a young age, Greenstein ran away to join a Russian circus, then made his way to the Texas oil fields, and finally to Brooklyn, where, as the Mighty Atom, he would earn a place in Ripley’s Believe It or Not and the Guinness Book of World Records for his extraordinary feats (for instance, in 1928, resisting the pull of a plane with a 220 horsepower using ropes tied to his long hair).
The Mighty Atom died in 1977, at age 84. Reporter Jon Kalish presents this profile of him, drawing on archival interviews as well as conversations with his protégés and with his son Mike Greenstein, now 91. [Running time: 12:51.]
Your browser does not support the audio element.
<p>In a fortnight, millions of TV viewers will tune in to watch world-class athletes perform acts of great strength and endurance. But a few generations back, at the turn of the last century, long before the Olympic Games became the outsized [...]Israel’s African Problemhttp://www.tabletmag.com/podcasts/105143/israels-african-problem
http://www.tabletmag.com/podcasts/105143/israels-african-problem#commentsMon, 02 Jul 2012 11:00:49 +0000http://www.tabletmag.com/?p=105143Over the past few years, Israel has seen a dramatic increase in immigration—not of Jews, but of migrants from African nations like Eritrea, Sudan, and Ivory Coast. According to some estimates, there are now approximately 60,000 African migrants living in Israel, and their presence has given rise to tensions, particularly in the poor Tel Aviv […]

]]>Over the past few years, Israel has seen a dramatic increase in immigration—not of Jews, but of migrants from African nations like Eritrea, Sudan, and Ivory Coast. According to some estimates, there are now approximately 60,000 African migrants living in Israel, and their presence has given rise to tensions, particularly in the poor Tel Aviv neighborhoods where many of them have settled.

Now the government has embarked on a crackdown—not the first but certainly the toughest so far—deporting hundreds of migrants from South Sudan, which it says is safe enough for them to return to. Migrants from Ivory Coast are up next: This past Thursday, the government announced they have two weeks to leave voluntarily. Israeli officials argue that the deportations are necessary because the migrants are a burden and a threat to the country’s Jewish majority. Critics say the policy violates human rights, not to mention Jewish values.

Itamar Mann has worked directly with Israel’s African migrants as a co-founder of We Are Refugees, an organization providing pro bono counsel to asylum-seekers in Israel. But he also views immigrant questions from a wider perspective. Mann is a lawyer and a doctoral student at Yale University studying the history of refugee policies in Europe, the United States, and Australia. Vox Tablet host Sara Ivry speaks with Mann about the underlying causes of, and possible solutions to, Israel’s immigrant situation. [Running time: 16:44.]

]]>http://www.tabletmag.com/podcasts/105143/israels-african-problem/feed25Over the past few years, Israel has seen a dramatic increase in immigration—not of Jews, but of migrants from African nations like Eritrea, Sudan, and Ivory Coast. According to some estimates, there are now approximately 60,000 African migrants living in Israel, and their presence has given rise to tensions, particularly in the poor Tel Aviv neighborhoods where many of them have settled.
Now the government has embarked on a crackdown—not the first but certainly the toughest so far—deporting hundreds of migrants from South Sudan, which it says is safe enough for them to return to. Migrants from Ivory Coast are up next: This past Thursday, the government announced they have two weeks to leave voluntarily. Israeli officials argue that the deportations are necessary because the migrants are a burden and a threat to the country’s Jewish majority. Critics say the policy violates human rights, not to mention Jewish values.
Itamar Mann has worked directly with Israel’s African migrants as a co-founder of We Are Refugees, an organization providing pro bono counsel to asylum-seekers in Israel. But he also views immigrant questions from a wider perspective. Mann is a lawyer and a doctoral student at Yale University studying the history of refugee policies in Europe, the United States, and Australia. Vox Tablet host Sara Ivry speaks with Mann about the underlying causes of, and possible solutions to, Israel’s immigrant situation. [Running time: 16:44.]
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<p>Over the past few years, Israel has seen a dramatic increase in immigration—not of Jews, but of migrants from African nations like Eritrea, Sudan, and Ivory Coast. According to some estimates, there are now approximately 60,000 African [...]A Novel’s Unlikely Friendshttp://www.tabletmag.com/podcasts/74886/only-connect
http://www.tabletmag.com/podcasts/74886/only-connect#commentsMon, 25 Jun 2012 11:00:04 +0000http://www.tabletmag.com/?p=74886According to the Torah, homosexuality is forbidden. That injunction is what makes Rabbi Zuckerman, a frail old man, recoil when he learns that a new friend, a twentysomething named Benji Steiner, is gay. These characters and their relationship anchor a new novel, Sweet Like Sugar, by Wayne Hoffman. It’s a story that takes on identity, […]

]]>According to the Torah, homosexuality is forbidden. That injunction is what makes Rabbi Zuckerman, a frail old man, recoil when he learns that a new friend, a twentysomething named Benji Steiner, is gay. These characters and their relationship anchor a new novel, Sweet Like Sugar, by Wayne Hoffman. It’s a story that takes on identity, personal secrets, and the search for connection. The novel is something of a departure for Hoffman, whose debut, Hard, took a much more explicit look at gay life, describing the personal and political engagement of a group of gay men in the late 1990s in Greenwich Village.

Hoffman, the managing editor of Tablet Magazine, will accept the prestigious Stonewall Book Award/Barbara Gittings Literature Award at the annual American Library Association conference today. To celebrate his accomplishment, we re-present his conversation with Vox Tablet host Sara Ivry. They discuss Sweet Like Sugar, how his two careers—novelist and editor—influence one another, and his own experience finding acceptance as a gay Jew. [Running time: 16:54.]

]]>http://www.tabletmag.com/podcasts/74886/only-connect/feed6According to the Torah, homosexuality is forbidden. That injunction is what makes Rabbi Zuckerman, a frail old man, recoil when he learns that a new friend, a twentysomething named Benji Steiner, is gay. These characters and their relationship anchor a new novel, Sweet Like Sugar, by Wayne Hoffman. It’s a story that takes on identity, personal secrets, and the search for connection. The novel is something of a departure for Hoffman, whose debut, Hard, took a much more explicit look at gay life, describing the personal and political engagement of a group of gay men in the late 1990s in Greenwich Village.
Hoffman, the managing editor of Tablet Magazine, will accept the prestigious Stonewall Book Award/Barbara Gittings Literature Award at the annual American Library Association conference today. To celebrate his accomplishment, we re-present his conversation with Vox Tablet host Sara Ivry. They discuss Sweet Like Sugar, how his two careers—novelist and editor—influence one another, and his own experience finding acceptance as a gay Jew. [Running time: 16:54.]
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This podcast was originally published on Aug. 17, 2011.
<p>According to the Torah, homosexuality is forbidden. That injunction is what makes Rabbi Zuckerman, a frail old man, recoil when he learns that a new friend, a twentysomething named Benji Steiner, is gay. These characters and their [...]Blonde and Botoxed in Miamihttp://www.tabletmag.com/podcasts/102627/miami-goddess-for-a-day
http://www.tabletmag.com/podcasts/102627/miami-goddess-for-a-day#commentsThu, 14 Jun 2012 11:00:24 +0000http://www.tabletmag.com/?p=102627In the 1970s, Aline Kominsky-Crumb pioneered a let-it-all-hang-out style of autobiographical comics. Her influence continues to this day, in the work of graphic novelists like Allison Bechdel or, perhaps more aptly, filmmaker Lena Dunham, creator and star of the much-discussed HBO series Girls. Kominsky-Crumb’s other claim to fame is her husband, R. Crumb, the macher […]

]]>In the 1970s, Aline Kominsky-Crumb pioneered a let-it-all-hang-out style of autobiographical comics. Her influence continues to this day, in the work of graphic novelists like Allison Bechdel or, perhaps more aptly, filmmaker Lena Dunham, creator and star of the much-discussed HBO series Girls. Kominsky-Crumb’s other claim to fame is her husband, R. Crumb, the macher of underground comics. The Crumbs have been living in a village in France for the past two decades, collaborating and pursuing their own independent projects. Now Kominsky-Crumb has a show opening at the Museum of Comic and Cartoon Art in New York. The exhibit documents, with drawings and video, a trip she and fellow artist Dominique Sapel took to Miami—not as tourists, but as participant-observers of the local culture. More specifically, they went there to get makeovers from Cookie Rosen, Kominsky-Crumb’s mother’s beautician. Then they hit the street to see how it felt to be made up, blown out, and lifted. On a recent afternoon, Kominsky-Crumb gave independent producer Eric Molinsky a tour of the upcoming exhibit. [Running time: 8:22.]

]]>http://www.tabletmag.com/podcasts/102627/miami-goddess-for-a-day/feed1In the 1970s, Aline Kominsky-Crumb pioneered a let-it-all-hang-out style of autobiographical comics. Her influence continues to this day, in the work of graphic novelists like Allison Bechdel or, perhaps more aptly, filmmaker Lena Dunham, creator and star of the much-discussed HBO series Girls. Kominsky-Crumb’s other claim to fame is her husband, R. Crumb, the macher of underground comics. The Crumbs have been living in a village in France for the past two decades, collaborating and pursuing their own independent projects. Now Kominsky-Crumb has a show opening at the Museum of Comic and Cartoon Art in New York. The exhibit documents, with drawings and video, a trip she and fellow artist Dominique Sapel took to Miami—not as tourists, but as participant-observers of the local culture. More specifically, they went there to get makeovers from Cookie Rosen, Kominsky-Crumb’s mother’s beautician. Then they hit the street to see how it felt to be made up, blown out, and lifted. On a recent afternoon, Kominsky-Crumb gave independent producer Eric Molinsky a tour of the upcoming exhibit. [Running time: 8:22.]
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<p>In the 1970s, Aline Kominsky-Crumb pioneered a let-it-all-hang-out style of autobiographical comics. Her influence continues to this day, in the work of graphic novelists like Allison Bechdel or, perhaps more aptly, filmmaker Lena Dunham, [...]A Chinese Shul’s Love Storyhttp://www.tabletmag.com/podcasts/101947/a-chinese-shuls-love-story
Mon, 11 Jun 2012 11:00:20 +0000http://www.tabletmag.com/?p=101947The former Ohel Moshe Synagogue in the northern Hongkou District of Shanghai was once the spiritual home of European Jews taking refuge during World War II. Most of those 20,000 refugees moved on after the war and the establishment of Communist China. These days, the synagogue forms part of the Jewish Refugees Museum; it’s sparsely […]

]]>The former Ohel Moshe Synagogue in the northern Hongkou District of Shanghai was once the spiritual home of European Jews taking refuge during World War II. Most of those 20,000 refugees moved on after the war and the establishment of Communist China. These days, the synagogue forms part of the Jewish Refugees Museum; it’s sparsely furnished and usually quiet. (An exhibit on the community opens later this month in New York City.)

For a few weeks this past spring that changed, as the synagogue’s prayer hall was transformed into a wartime café, in which was set a historical drama called North Bank Suzhou Creek. (The play has since had a three-night run in New York City, and there are plans in the works for additional performances.) The production, a love story full of musical numbers, is by Chinese playwright William Sun and was co-directed by Michael Leibenluft and Jeffrey Sichel, both American. The six-person cast was a mix of French, British, Chinese, and American performers. Shanghai-based reporter Rebecca Kanthor visited the set during rehearsals and sold-out performances and talked to the actors and directors about the pleasures and pains of putting on a bilingual, bi-cultural production of this kind. [Running time: 7:51.]

]]>The former Ohel Moshe Synagogue in the northern Hongkou District of Shanghai was once the spiritual home of European Jews taking refuge during World War II. Most of those 20,000 refugees moved on after the war and the establishment of Communist China. These days, the synagogue forms part of the Jewish Refugees Museum; it’s sparsely furnished and usually quiet. (An exhibit on the community opens later this month in New York City.)
For a few weeks this past spring that changed, as the synagogue’s prayer hall was transformed into a wartime café, in which was set a historical drama called North Bank Suzhou Creek. (The play has since had a three-night run in New York City, and there are plans in the works for additional performances.) The production, a love story full of musical numbers, is by Chinese playwright William Sun and was co-directed by Michael Leibenluft and Jeffrey Sichel, both American. The six-person cast was a mix of French, British, Chinese, and American performers. Shanghai-based reporter Rebecca Kanthor visited the set during rehearsals and sold-out performances and talked to the actors and directors about the pleasures and pains of putting on a bilingual, bi-cultural production of this kind. [Running time: 7:51.]
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<p>The former Ohel Moshe Synagogue in the northern Hongkou District of Shanghai was once the spiritual home of European Jews taking refuge during World War II. Most of those 20,000 refugees moved on after the war and the establishment of [...]Moroccan Grooves, Bloggedhttp://www.tabletmag.com/podcasts/101311/moroccan-grooves-blogged
http://www.tabletmag.com/podcasts/101311/moroccan-grooves-blogged#commentsMon, 04 Jun 2012 11:00:37 +0000http://www.tabletmag.com/?p=101311By day, Chris Silver works for a Jewish task force trying to raise awareness about civic inequalities facing Israel’s Arab citizens. But he dedicates his free time to Jews in an Arab land, with his blog, Jewish Morocco. Silver created the blog in 2008, while traveling in Morocco, as a way of sharing the stories, […]

]]>By day, Chris Silver works for a Jewish task force trying to raise awareness about civic inequalities facing Israel’s Arab citizens. But he dedicates his free time to Jews in an Arab land, with his blog, Jewish Morocco. Silver created the blog in 2008, while traveling in Morocco, as a way of sharing the stories, photographs, and other artifacts he was collecting to document what Jewish life there had been like in its heyday. Along the way, he developed a particular interest in the country’s Jewish musicians and singers—characters who were beloved by Moroccans of all backgrounds, and to whom he gives ample space on his blog.

Silver joins Vox Tablet host Sara Ivry to talk about some of the unique voices he’s discovered, what happened to Jewish Moroccan singers once they left the country in the 1950s and ’60s, and where he gets his missionary zeal (hint: It has to do with Bob Dylan; Mama Cass; Bill Cosby; and Chris’s dad, Roy). [Running time: 25:55.]

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]]>http://www.tabletmag.com/podcasts/101311/moroccan-grooves-blogged/feed3By day, Chris Silver works for a Jewish task force trying to raise awareness about civic inequalities facing Israel’s Arab citizens. But he dedicates his free time to Jews in an Arab land, with his blog, Jewish Morocco. Silver created the blog in 2008, while traveling in Morocco, as a way of sharing the stories, photographs, and other artifacts he was collecting to document what Jewish life there had been like in its heyday. Along the way, he developed a particular interest in the country’s Jewish musicians and singers—characters who were beloved by Moroccans of all backgrounds, and to whom he gives ample space on his blog.
Silver joins Vox Tablet host Sara Ivry to talk about some of the unique voices he’s discovered, what happened to Jewish Moroccan singers once they left the country in the 1950s and ’60s, and where he gets his missionary zeal (hint: It has to do with Bob Dylan; Mama Cass; Bill Cosby; and Chris’s dad, Roy). [Running time: 25:55.]
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<p>By day, Chris Silver works for a Jewish task force trying to raise awareness about civic inequalities facing Israel’s Arab citizens. But he dedicates his free time to Jews in an Arab land, with his blog, Jewish Morocco. Silver created [...]An Atheist for Religionhttp://www.tabletmag.com/podcasts/100431/an-atheist-for-religion
http://www.tabletmag.com/podcasts/100431/an-atheist-for-religion#commentsTue, 29 May 2012 11:00:26 +0000http://www.tabletmag.com/?p=100431Essayist and philosopher-for-the-masses Alain de Botton is best known for How Proust Can Change Your Life, in which he plumbs Remembrance of Things Past for lessons on how to live a more fulfilling life. De Botton has also written books on love, travel, and architecture. In his newest book, Religion for Atheists, de Botton tackles […]

]]>Essayist and philosopher-for-the-masses Alain de Botton is best known for How Proust Can Change Your Life, in which he plumbs Remembrance of Things Past for lessons on how to live a more fulfilling life. De Botton has also written books on love, travel, and architecture. In his newest book, Religion for Atheists, de Botton tackles religion. Here he argues that, in rejecting religion wholesale, atheists are unnecessarily depriving themselves of world religions’ prodigious cultural, spiritual, and ethical offerings. His “pick and choose” approach to religion–rejecting central tenets like, say, a belief in God, while borrowing concepts like Judaism’s Day of Atonement–will surely rub some believers the wrong way. But de Botton is addressing a different audience, including many self-identified “cultural Jews” whose ignorance of Judaism he laments. London-based reporter Hugh Levinson spoke to de Botton in London about his own religious background (or lack thereof), the possibility of being religious without having faith, and how the secular world holds on to the memory of religious tyranny while it ignores the religious world’s ability to transmit knowledge.

]]>http://www.tabletmag.com/podcasts/100431/an-atheist-for-religion/feed4Essayist and philosopher-for-the-masses Alain de Botton is best known for How Proust Can Change Your Life, in which he plumbs Remembrance of Things Past for lessons on how to live a more fulfilling life. De Botton has also written books on love, travel, and architecture. In his newest book, Religion for Atheists, de Botton tackles religion. Here he argues that, in rejecting religion wholesale, atheists are unnecessarily depriving themselves of world religions’ prodigious cultural, spiritual, and ethical offerings. His “pick and choose” approach to religion–rejecting central tenets like, say, a belief in God, while borrowing concepts like Judaism’s Day of Atonement–will surely rub some believers the wrong way. But de Botton is addressing a different audience, including many self-identified “cultural Jews” whose ignorance of Judaism he laments. London-based reporter Hugh Levinson spoke to de Botton in London about his own religious background (or lack thereof), the possibility of being religious without having faith, and how the secular world holds on to the memory of religious tyranny while it ignores the religious world’s ability to transmit knowledge.
Here’s their conversation. [Running time: 18:53.]
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<p>Essayist and philosopher-for-the-masses Alain de Botton is best known for How Proust Can Change Your Life, in which he plumbs Remembrance of Things Past for lessons on how to live a more fulfilling life. De Botton has also written books on [...]Voices Raised for Jerusalemhttp://www.tabletmag.com/podcasts/99999/voices-raised-for-jerusalem
http://www.tabletmag.com/podcasts/99999/voices-raised-for-jerusalem#commentsFri, 18 May 2012 11:00:27 +0000http://www.tabletmag.com/?p=99999Matthew Lazar grew up singing—at home, at summer camp, everywhere. A trained musician and conductor, he found that singing in a chorus offered him a way to foster community and express joy in being Jewish. That joy reached greater heights when Lazar took over the reins of the Zamir Choral Foundation, an organization dedicated to […]

]]>Matthew Lazar grew up singing—at home, at summer camp, everywhere. A trained musician and conductor, he found that singing in a chorus offered him a way to foster community and express joy in being Jewish. That joy reached greater heights when Lazar took over the reins of the Zamir Choral Foundation, an organization dedicated to giving teenagers and adults an opportunity to sing together throughout the United States and Israel, 40 years ago.

This Sunday, the voices of the Zamir Chorale will fill the halls of Jazz at Lincoln Center, when they perform with Yehoram Gaon, Alberto Mizrahi, and other special guests in a concert celebrating Yom Yerushalayim, or Jerusalem Day, the holiday that marks the reunification of Jerusalem after 1967’s Six Day War.

Matthew Lazar joins Vox Tablet host Sara Ivry to talk about what makes choral music Jewish, about his own musical background, and about what will surely be some highlights from this Sunday’s concert. [Running time: 15:08.]

]]>http://www.tabletmag.com/podcasts/99999/voices-raised-for-jerusalem/feed2Matthew Lazar grew up singing—at home, at summer camp, everywhere. A trained musician and conductor, he found that singing in a chorus offered him a way to foster community and express joy in being Jewish. That joy reached greater heights when Lazar took over the reins of the Zamir Choral Foundation, an organization dedicated to giving teenagers and adults an opportunity to sing together throughout the United States and Israel, 40 years ago.
This Sunday, the voices of the Zamir Chorale will fill the halls of Jazz at Lincoln Center, when they perform with Yehoram Gaon, Alberto Mizrahi, and other special guests in a concert celebrating Yom Yerushalayim, or Jerusalem Day, the holiday that marks the reunification of Jerusalem after 1967’s Six Day War.
Matthew Lazar joins Vox Tablet host Sara Ivry to talk about what makes choral music Jewish, about his own musical background, and about what will surely be some highlights from this Sunday’s concert. [Running time: 15:08.]
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<p>Matthew Lazar grew up singing—at home, at summer camp, everywhere. A trained musician and conductor, he found that singing in a chorus offered him a way to foster community and express joy in being Jewish. That joy reached greater [...]Old Jews Telling More Jokeshttp://www.tabletmag.com/podcasts/99425/old-jews-telling-more-jokes
http://www.tabletmag.com/podcasts/99425/old-jews-telling-more-jokes#commentsMon, 14 May 2012 11:00:14 +0000http://www.tabletmag.com/?p=99425In the beginning, there were just old Jews telling jokes—you know, Uncle Buddy down in Boca or grandpa’s bawdy second wife Hettie. Then, in 2008, filmmaker Sam Hoffman had the idea of filming some of his favorite old Jews telling jokes. He created a website and posted a series of “Old Jews Telling Jokes” videos […]

]]>In the beginning, there were just old Jews telling jokes—you know, Uncle Buddy down in Boca or grandpa’s bawdy second wife Hettie. Then, in 2008, filmmaker Sam Hoffman had the idea of filming some of his favorite old Jews telling jokes. He created a website and posted a series of “Old Jews Telling Jokes” videos that soon attracted a devoted following. The most popular jokes (such as this one, about giving directions) have been viewed well over a million times.

Now, at the initiative of Daniel Okrent—the first public editor for the New York Times—and writer and editor Peter Gethers, Old Jews Telling Jokes has been re-purposed as a theatrical production, complete with a narrative through-line and cabaret-style musical numbers. Currently in previews, it opens May 20 at the Westside Theater in Manhattan.

Independent producer Eric Molinsky speaks to Hoffman, Okrent, Gethers, and (old Jewish) actors Marilyn Sokol and Todd Sussman about how a collection of tall tales about rabbis, doctors, and plumbers became a night of musical theater. [Running time: 10:33.]

]]>http://www.tabletmag.com/podcasts/99425/old-jews-telling-more-jokes/feed3In the beginning, there were just old Jews telling jokes—you know, Uncle Buddy down in Boca or grandpa’s bawdy second wife Hettie. Then, in 2008, filmmaker Sam Hoffman had the idea of filming some of his favorite old Jews telling jokes. He created a website and posted a series of “Old Jews Telling Jokes” videos that soon attracted a devoted following. The most popular jokes (such as this one, about giving directions) have been viewed well over a million times.
Now, at the initiative of Daniel Okrent—the first public editor for the New York Times—and writer and editor Peter Gethers, Old Jews Telling Jokes has been re-purposed as a theatrical production, complete with a narrative through-line and cabaret-style musical numbers. Currently in previews, it opens May 20 at the Westside Theater in Manhattan.
Independent producer Eric Molinsky speaks to Hoffman, Okrent, Gethers, and (old Jewish) actors Marilyn Sokol and Todd Sussman about how a collection of tall tales about rabbis, doctors, and plumbers became a night of musical theater. [Running time: 10:33.]
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<p>In the beginning, there were just old Jews telling jokes—you know, Uncle Buddy down in Boca or grandpa’s bawdy second wife Hettie. Then, in 2008, filmmaker Sam Hoffman had the idea of filming some of his favorite old Jews telling [...]yesThe Most Perfect Hebrew Biblehttp://www.tabletmag.com/podcasts/98754/the-most-perfect-hebrew-bible
http://www.tabletmag.com/podcasts/98754/the-most-perfect-hebrew-bible#commentsMon, 07 May 2012 11:00:40 +0000http://www.tabletmag.com/?p=98754The Aleppo Codex, which dates back to the 10th century, is considered by many Bible scholars to be the most perfect copy of the Hebrew Bible that has ever existed. Yet most Jews have never heard of it. Four years ago, Jerusalem-based reporter Matti Friedman set out to change that fact, researching the codex’s mysterious […]

]]>The Aleppo Codex, which dates back to the 10th century, is considered by many Bible scholars to be the most perfect copy of the Hebrew Bible that has ever existed. Yet most Jews have never heard of it. Four years ago, Jerusalem-based reporter Matti Friedman set out to change that fact, researching the codex’s mysterious history: how it changed hands from the Jews of Aleppo, Syria, where it had been safeguarded for centuries, to tightly held institutional control in the state of Israel—where it became decidedly more imperiled, and where large portions of the codex went missing.

Friedman explores this journey in The Aleppo Codex: A True Story of Obsession, Faith, and the Pursuit of an Ancient Bible. He joins Vox Tablet host Sara Ivry to discuss the codex’s clandestine journey to Israel in the late 1950s, what might have happened to sections of the codex that have gone missing, and the struggle of the Jews of Aleppo to regain control of their community’s most prized religious artifact. [Running time: 18:33.]

]]>http://www.tabletmag.com/podcasts/98754/the-most-perfect-hebrew-bible/feed22The Aleppo Codex, which dates back to the 10th century, is considered by many Bible scholars to be the most perfect copy of the Hebrew Bible that has ever existed. Yet most Jews have never heard of it. Four years ago, Jerusalem-based reporter Matti Friedman set out to change that fact, researching the codex’s mysterious history: how it changed hands from the Jews of Aleppo, Syria, where it had been safeguarded for centuries, to tightly held institutional control in the state of Israel—where it became decidedly more imperiled, and where large portions of the codex went missing.
Friedman explores this journey in The Aleppo Codex: A True Story of Obsession, Faith, and the Pursuit of an Ancient Bible. He joins Vox Tablet host Sara Ivry to discuss the codex’s clandestine journey to Israel in the late 1950s, what might have happened to sections of the codex that have gone missing, and the struggle of the Jews of Aleppo to regain control of their community’s most prized religious artifact. [Running time: 18:33.]
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<p>The Aleppo Codex, which dates back to the 10th century, is considered by many Bible scholars to be the most perfect copy of the Hebrew Bible that has ever existed. Yet most Jews have never heard of it. Four years ago, Jerusalem-based [...]Madeleine Albright’s War Yearshttp://www.tabletmag.com/podcasts/97886/madeleine-albrights-war-years
http://www.tabletmag.com/podcasts/97886/madeleine-albrights-war-years#commentsThu, 26 Apr 2012 11:00:00 +0000http://www.tabletmag.com/?p=97886In 1996, just as the Honorable Madeleine Korbelova Albright was confirmed as secretary of State—the country’s first woman to hold that post—revelations came to light that her Czech parents, neither of whom were living by then, had been born Jews. Josef and Anna (née Spieglová) Korbel converted to Catholicism in 1941, when Josef was working […]

]]>In 1996, just as the Honorable Madeleine Korbelova Albright was confirmed as secretary of State—the country’s first woman to hold that post—revelations came to light that her Czech parents, neither of whom were living by then, had been born Jews.

Josef and Anna (née Spieglová) Korbel converted to Catholicism in 1941, when Josef was working for the exiled Czech government in London. The information, which Albright learned of just a few months before it was made public, raised many questions: Why had her parents converted, and why had they never told her? Why had she never figured it out? And what happened to the relatives who remained in Czechoslovakia during World War II and after? It was only when her term as secretary of State ended that Albright was able to pursue answers to these questions in earnest. In her new book, Prague Winter: A Personal Story of Remembrance and War, she chronicles her search and the answers she found. She joins Vox Tablet host Sara Ivry to talk about what it was like to learn of her family background at age 59, and about what she’s done with this knowledge in the intervening years. Albright also talks about why Hillary Clinton has a harder job than she did. [Running time: 16:09.]

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]]>http://www.tabletmag.com/podcasts/97886/madeleine-albrights-war-years/feed23In 1996, just as the Honorable Madeleine Korbelova Albright was confirmed as secretary of State—the country’s first woman to hold that post—revelations came to light that her Czech parents, neither of whom were living by then, had been born Jews.
Josef and Anna (née Spieglová) Korbel converted to Catholicism in 1941, when Josef was working for the exiled Czech government in London. The information, which Albright learned of just a few months before it was made public, raised many questions: Why had her parents converted, and why had they never told her? Why had she never figured it out? And what happened to the relatives who remained in Czechoslovakia during World War II and after? It was only when her term as secretary of State ended that Albright was able to pursue answers to these questions in earnest. In her new book, Prague Winter: A Personal Story of Remembrance and War, she chronicles her search and the answers she found. She joins Vox Tablet host Sara Ivry to talk about what it was like to learn of her family background at age 59, and about what she’s done with this knowledge in the intervening years. Albright also talks about why Hillary Clinton has a harder job than she did. [Running time: 16:09.]
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<p>In 1996, just as the Honorable Madeleine Korbelova Albright was confirmed as secretary of State—the country’s first woman to hold that post—revelations came to light that her Czech parents, neither of whom were living by then, had [...]Taken for a Ride in Jerusalemhttp://www.tabletmag.com/podcasts/97420/taken-for-a-ride-in-jerusalem
http://www.tabletmag.com/podcasts/97420/taken-for-a-ride-in-jerusalem#commentsMon, 23 Apr 2012 11:00:29 +0000http://www.tabletmag.com/?p=97420Jerusalem is not known for its high-functioning infrastructure. With a rapidly growing population squeezed between sacred sites, and as ground zero for an intractable territorial conflict, it’s pretty much an urban planner’s worst nightmare. To wit: Jerusalem’s plan to build a light-rail system to ease congestion and unify the city. In addition to facing a […]

]]>Jerusalem is not known for its high-functioning infrastructure. With a rapidly growing population squeezed between sacred sites, and as ground zero for an intractable territorial conflict, it’s pretty much an urban planner’s worst nightmare. To wit: Jerusalem’s plan to build a light-rail system to ease congestion and unify the city. In addition to facing a host of logistical obstacles, the proposal prompted considerable opposition because the trains would cross borders that many people have fought hard to define and defend, separating East Jerusalem from West, Arab from Jew. After nearly a decade of construction, at a cost of over a billion dollars, the system finally opened several months ago. But if there’s one thing that unites these commuting Jerusalemites, it’s their frustration with the train’s deficiencies. Daniel Estrin filed this report. [Running time: 15:02.]

]]>http://www.tabletmag.com/podcasts/97420/taken-for-a-ride-in-jerusalem/feed5Jerusalem is not known for its high-functioning infrastructure. With a rapidly growing population squeezed between sacred sites, and as ground zero for an intractable territorial conflict, it’s pretty much an urban planner’s worst nightmare. To wit: Jerusalem’s plan to build a light-rail system to ease congestion and unify the city. In addition to facing a host of logistical obstacles, the proposal prompted considerable opposition because the trains would cross borders that many people have fought hard to define and defend, separating East Jerusalem from West, Arab from Jew. After nearly a decade of construction, at a cost of over a billion dollars, the system finally opened several months ago. But if there’s one thing that unites these commuting Jerusalemites, it’s their frustration with the train’s deficiencies. Daniel Estrin filed this report. [Running time: 15:02.]
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<p>Jerusalem is not known for its high-functioning infrastructure. With a rapidly growing population squeezed between sacred sites, and as ground zero for an intractable territorial conflict, it’s pretty much an urban planner’s worst [...]Aging Survivors Can’t Forgethttp://www.tabletmag.com/podcasts/96641/agin-survivors-cant-forget
http://www.tabletmag.com/podcasts/96641/agin-survivors-cant-forget#commentsMon, 16 Apr 2012 11:00:53 +0000http://www.tabletmag.com/?p=96641Many of the estimated 200,000 living Holocaust survivors face a new trauma in their final years, as they are overwhelmed by terrible memories they’ve successfully contained for 70 years. In some cases, the return of these memories is the outcome of a natural instinct, as we age, to look back over our lives. For others, […]

]]>Many of the estimated 200,000 living Holocaust survivors face a new trauma in their final years, as they are overwhelmed by terrible memories they’ve successfully contained for 70 years. In some cases, the return of these memories is the outcome of a natural instinct, as we age, to look back over our lives. For others, it’s the result of what has been termed late-onset post-traumatic stress disorder, which brings on flashbacks, bouts of paranoia, and other debilitating symptoms. Reporter Karen Brown introduces us to survivors and their family members (including Howard Reich, whose documentary film Prisoner of her Past chronicled his mother’s mental decline), as well as social workers and specialists working with them, to find out more about this painful last chapter in a survivor’s life, and about what can be done to help them. [Running time: 17:00.]

]]>http://www.tabletmag.com/podcasts/96641/agin-survivors-cant-forget/feed6Many of the estimated 200,000 living Holocaust survivors face a new trauma in their final years, as they are overwhelmed by terrible memories they’ve successfully contained for 70 years. In some cases, the return of these memories is the outcome of a natural instinct, as we age, to look back over our lives. For others, it’s the result of what has been termed late-onset post-traumatic stress disorder, which brings on flashbacks, bouts of paranoia, and other debilitating symptoms. Reporter Karen Brown introduces us to survivors and their family members (including Howard Reich, whose documentary film Prisoner of her Past chronicled his mother’s mental decline), as well as social workers and specialists working with them, to find out more about this painful last chapter in a survivor’s life, and about what can be done to help them. [Running time: 17:00.]
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<p>Many of the estimated 200,000 living Holocaust survivors face a new trauma in their final years, as they are overwhelmed by terrible memories they’ve successfully contained for 70 years. In some cases, the return of these memories is the [...]On the Cancer Gene Trailhttp://www.tabletmag.com/podcasts/96237/on-the-cancer-gene-trail
http://www.tabletmag.com/podcasts/96237/on-the-cancer-gene-trail#commentsMon, 09 Apr 2012 11:00:00 +0000http://www.tabletmag.com/?p=96237In 1999, a young woman in Colorado named Shonnie Medina died of breast cancer. Tests revealed that she carried a gene mutation commonly associated with Jews—yet Medina was a Hispano, meaning that her ancestry was both Native American and Spanish, with no known Jewish background. Other family members similarly turned out to be carriers of […]

]]>In 1999, a young woman in Colorado named Shonnie Medina died of breast cancer. Tests revealed that she carried a gene mutation commonly associated with Jews—yet Medina was a Hispano, meaning that her ancestry was both Native American and Spanish, with no known Jewish background. Other family members similarly turned out to be carriers of this potentially deadly gene; some have died from or been diagnosed with breast or ovarian cancer.

How this clan of Roman Catholic Hispanos became carriers of this mutation is the subject of a new book by Jeff Wheelwright: The Wandering Gene and the Indian Princess: Race, Religion, and DNA tells Medina’s tragic tale as well as the story of how one specific genetic marker could have made its way from Ancient Babylonia to the contemporary American southwest. Wheelwright joins Vox Tablet host Sara Ivry to talk about the resilience of the breast-cancer gene, and how the Jewish Diaspora can be traced by following the appearance of the gene around the world. [Running time: 17:07.]

]]>http://www.tabletmag.com/podcasts/96237/on-the-cancer-gene-trail/feed10In 1999, a young woman in Colorado named Shonnie Medina died of breast cancer. Tests revealed that she carried a gene mutation commonly associated with Jews—yet Medina was a Hispano, meaning that her ancestry was both Native American and Spanish, with no known Jewish background. Other family members similarly turned out to be carriers of this potentially deadly gene; some have died from or been diagnosed with breast or ovarian cancer.
How this clan of Roman Catholic Hispanos became carriers of this mutation is the subject of a new book by Jeff Wheelwright: The Wandering Gene and the Indian Princess: Race, Religion, and DNA tells Medina’s tragic tale as well as the story of how one specific genetic marker could have made its way from Ancient Babylonia to the contemporary American southwest. Wheelwright joins Vox Tablet host Sara Ivry to talk about the resilience of the breast-cancer gene, and how the Jewish Diaspora can be traced by following the appearance of the gene around the world. [Running time: 17:07.]
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<p>In 1999, a young woman in Colorado named Shonnie Medina died of breast cancer. Tests revealed that she carried a gene mutation commonly associated with Jews—yet Medina was a Hispano, meaning that her ancestry was both Native American and [...]Don’t Diss Passover Fruit Sliceshttp://www.tabletmag.com/podcasts/95650/don%e2%80%99t-diss-passover-fruit-slices
http://www.tabletmag.com/podcasts/95650/don%e2%80%99t-diss-passover-fruit-slices#commentsMon, 02 Apr 2012 11:00:29 +0000http://www.tabletmag.com/?p=95650Jerry Cohen’s father opened Economy Candy on Rivington Street on Manhattan’s Lower East Side back in 1937, and it remains a paradise for anyone with an appreciation for brightly packaged and affordable confections. In it, one finds shelves overflowing with every candy you can imagine, from Bonomo’s Banana Turkish Taffy to Sifer’s Valomilk. The store […]

]]>Jerry Cohen’s father opened Economy Candy on Rivington Street on Manhattan’s Lower East Side back in 1937, and it remains a paradise for anyone with an appreciation for brightly packaged and affordable confections. In it, one finds shelves overflowing with every candy you can imagine, from Bonomo’s Banana Turkish Taffy to Sifer’s Valomilk. The store also carries seasonal treats, which, at this time of year, means neon-yellow marshmallow Peeps within arm’s reach of packaged Seder mints.

On this week’s podcast, Cohen takes unabashed sweet tooth Blake Eskin on a tour of his Passover candy selection. Along the way, they discuss the joys of a non-packaged fruit slice and the future of the candy business and make a brief detour into the forbidden land of chocolate bunnies. [Running time: 7:11.]

]]>http://www.tabletmag.com/podcasts/95650/don%e2%80%99t-diss-passover-fruit-slices/feed12Jerry Cohen’s father opened Economy Candy on Rivington Street on Manhattan’s Lower East Side back in 1937, and it remains a paradise for anyone with an appreciation for brightly packaged and affordable confections. In it, one finds shelves overflowing with every candy you can imagine, from Bonomo’s Banana Turkish Taffy to Sifer’s Valomilk. The store also carries seasonal treats, which, at this time of year, means neon-yellow marshmallow Peeps within arm’s reach of packaged Seder mints.
On this week’s podcast, Cohen takes unabashed sweet tooth Blake Eskin on a tour of his Passover candy selection. Along the way, they discuss the joys of a non-packaged fruit slice and the future of the candy business and make a brief detour into the forbidden land of chocolate bunnies. [Running time: 7:11.]
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<p>Jerry Cohen’s father opened Economy Candy on Rivington Street on Manhattan’s Lower East Side back in 1937, and it remains a paradise for anyone with an appreciation for brightly packaged and affordable confections. In it, one finds [...]Big Band Theoryhttp://www.tabletmag.com/podcasts/94726/big-band-theory
http://www.tabletmag.com/podcasts/94726/big-band-theory#respondThu, 22 Mar 2012 11:00:23 +0000http://www.tabletmag.com/?p=94726Growing up in Tel Aviv, pianist Alon Yavnai was exposed to a range of musical traditions including Middle Eastern, jazz, and Latin (his mother is Argentine). Since then, the Grammy-winner has experimented with other influences, touring with a Cape Verdean dance band, for instance, and collaborating with accomplished musicians such as cellist Yo-Yo Ma and […]

]]>Growing up in Tel Aviv, pianist Alon Yavnai was exposed to a range of musical traditions including Middle Eastern, jazz, and Latin (his mother is Argentine). Since then, the Grammy-winner has experimented with other influences, touring with a Cape Verdean dance band, for instance, and collaborating with accomplished musicians such as cellist Yo-Yo Ma and saxophonist Paquito D’Rivera. Yavnai’s last album featured his own jazz trio. Now he’s trying his hand with a much bigger ensemble. Working with the Hamburg-based NDR Bigband, Yavnai has put out Shir Ahava, a jazz album that sometimes veers into symphony territory, blurring the lines between genres and suggesting, furthermore, that such lines are immaterial—to those making the music, anyway.

Yavnai speaks with Vox Tablet host Sara Ivry at his home in Brooklyn about how he first took up the piano, his ventures into big band music, and the eclectic origins of his favorite tracks on the album.

Vox Tablet listeners in New York City can see Yavnai perform with Paquito D’Rivera on Sunday, March 25 at Birdland. Click here for information. [Running time: 22:25.]

]]>http://www.tabletmag.com/podcasts/94726/big-band-theory/feed0Growing up in Tel Aviv, pianist Alon Yavnai was exposed to a range of musical traditions including Middle Eastern, jazz, and Latin (his mother is Argentine). Since then, the Grammy-winner has experimented with other influences, touring with a Cape Verdean dance band, for instance, and collaborating with accomplished musicians such as cellist Yo-Yo Ma and saxophonist Paquito D’Rivera. Yavnai’s last album featured his own jazz trio. Now he’s trying his hand with a much bigger ensemble. Working with the Hamburg-based NDR Bigband, Yavnai has put out Shir Ahava, a jazz album that sometimes veers into symphony territory, blurring the lines between genres and suggesting, furthermore, that such lines are immaterial—to those making the music, anyway.
Yavnai speaks with Vox Tablet host Sara Ivry at his home in Brooklyn about how he first took up the piano, his ventures into big band music, and the eclectic origins of his favorite tracks on the album.
Vox Tablet listeners in New York City can see Yavnai perform with Paquito D’Rivera on Sunday, March 25 at Birdland. Click here for information. [Running time: 22:25.]
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<p>Growing up in Tel Aviv, pianist Alon Yavnai was exposed to a range of musical traditions including Middle Eastern, jazz, and Latin (his mother is Argentine). Since then, the Grammy-winner has experimented with other influences, touring [...]General Frenemyhttp://www.tabletmag.com/podcasts/94151/general-frenemy
http://www.tabletmag.com/podcasts/94151/general-frenemy#commentsMon, 19 Mar 2012 11:00:07 +0000http://www.tabletmag.com/?p=94151Best known as the general who won the Civil War for the Union, Ulysses S. Grant later became the 18th president of the United States. Now historian Jonathan Sarna weighs in on Grant’s hotly debated legacy from a little-known angle: In When General Grant Expelled the Jews, the latest title from Nextbook Press, Sarna examines […]

]]>Best known as the general who won the Civil War for the Union, Ulysses S. Grant later became the 18th president of the United States. Now historian Jonathan Sarna weighs in on Grant’s hotly debated legacy from a little-known angle: In When General Grant Expelled the Jews, the latest title from Nextbook Press, Sarna examines the reasons for and impact of Grant’s General Orders No. 11, issued during the war on Dec. 17, 1862, which expelled all Jews from areas then under Grant’s jurisdiction.

Although it was quickly rescinded, General Orders No. 11 raised fears among Jews that the centuries-old threat of persecution had reached American shores. Throughout the remainder of his life, Grant went out of his way to show contrition: During his presidency, he promoted Jews to prominent positions in his administration and spoke out against anti-Jewish persecution in Eastern Europe. In 1876, Grant was the first president to attend a synagogue dedication. In 1878, Grant became the first president to visit Palestine.

Sarna joins Vox Tablet host Sara Ivry to discuss why Grant issued the Orders, how Jews responded, and what repercussions the episode has on American Jews today. [Running time: 24:07.]

]]>http://www.tabletmag.com/podcasts/94151/general-frenemy/feed3Best known as the general who won the Civil War for the Union, Ulysses S. Grant later became the 18th president of the United States. Now historian Jonathan Sarna weighs in on Grant’s hotly debated legacy from a little-known angle: In When General Grant Expelled the Jews, the latest title from Nextbook Press, Sarna examines the reasons for and impact of Grant’s General Orders No. 11, issued during the war on Dec. 17, 1862, which expelled all Jews from areas then under Grant’s jurisdiction.
Although it was quickly rescinded, General Orders No. 11 raised fears among Jews that the centuries-old threat of persecution had reached American shores. Throughout the remainder of his life, Grant went out of his way to show contrition: During his presidency, he promoted Jews to prominent positions in his administration and spoke out against anti-Jewish persecution in Eastern Europe. In 1876, Grant was the first president to attend a synagogue dedication. In 1878, Grant became the first president to visit Palestine.
Sarna joins Vox Tablet host Sara Ivry to discuss why Grant issued the Orders, how Jews responded, and what repercussions the episode has on American Jews today. [Running time: 24:07.]
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<p>Best known as the general who won the Civil War for the Union, Ulysses S. Grant later became the 18th president of the United States. Now historian Jonathan Sarna weighs in on Grant’s hotly debated legacy from a little-known angle: In [...]Jews for Jesushttp://www.tabletmag.com/podcasts/93430/jews-for-jesus
http://www.tabletmag.com/podcasts/93430/jews-for-jesus#commentsMon, 12 Mar 2012 12:00:37 +0000http://www.tabletmag.com/?p=93430Rabbi Shmuley Boteach made a huge splash with his 1999 book, Kosher Sex. The book, along with works including Kosher Sutra and Kosher Adultery, flouts taboos against discussing physical intimacy, desire, and other basic elements of the human experience. Now he’s at it again, taking on perhaps the biggest taboo of all: Jesus. In Kosher […]

]]> Rabbi Shmuley Boteach made a huge splash with his 1999 book, Kosher Sex. The book, along with works including Kosher Sutra and Kosher Adultery, flouts taboos against discussing physical intimacy, desire, and other basic elements of the human experience. Now he’s at it again, taking on perhaps the biggest taboo of all: Jesus. In Kosher Jesus, Boteach argues that Jesus, a faithful adherent and proponent of Judaism, never intended to create a new religion. That turn of events was a corruption of Jesus’ reputation by his followers, argues Boteach, and getting to a place where Jews and Christians alike recognize his Jewishness can only help achieve greater understanding between peoples of different faiths today.

Boteach joins Vox Tablet, hosted by Tablet’s Bari Weiss, to talk about his new book. With him on the podcast is Noah Feldman, a law professor at Harvard University and a longtime friend of Boteach’s, who has his own ideas about the potentials and limits of Jewish arguments about Jesus. In addition, Boteach solicits Feldman’s opinion on another pressing matter: Should Boteach run for Congress? Boteach has been weighing a candidacy and is expected to announce his final decision this week. (More on that here.) [Running time: 31:24]

]]>http://www.tabletmag.com/podcasts/93430/jews-for-jesus/feed31 Rabbi Shmuley Boteach made a huge splash with his 1999 book, Kosher Sex. The book, along with works including Kosher Sutra and Kosher Adultery, flouts taboos against discussing physical intimacy, desire, and other basic elements of the human experience. Now he’s at it again, taking on perhaps the biggest taboo of all: Jesus. In Kosher Jesus, Boteach argues that Jesus, a faithful adherent and proponent of Judaism, never intended to create a new religion. That turn of events was a corruption of Jesus’ reputation by his followers, argues Boteach, and getting to a place where Jews and Christians alike recognize his Jewishness can only help achieve greater understanding between peoples of different faiths today.
Boteach joins Vox Tablet, hosted by Tablet’s Bari Weiss, to talk about his new book. With him on the podcast is Noah Feldman, a law professor at Harvard University and a longtime friend of Boteach’s, who has his own ideas about the potentials and limits of Jewish arguments about Jesus. In addition, Boteach solicits Feldman’s opinion on another pressing matter: Should Boteach run for Congress? Boteach has been weighing a candidacy and is expected to announce his final decision this week. (More on that here.) [Running time: 31:24]
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<p>Rabbi Shmuley Boteach made a huge splash with his 1999 book, Kosher Sex. The book, along with works including Kosher Sutra and Kosher Adultery, flouts taboos against discussing physical intimacy, desire, and other basic elements of the [...]Easy Accesshttp://www.tabletmag.com/podcasts/92729/easy-access
http://www.tabletmag.com/podcasts/92729/easy-access#commentsMon, 05 Mar 2012 12:00:57 +0000http://www.tabletmag.com/?p=92729Before Ilya Khodosh went off to graduate school, he spent a lot of time online, especially when he had insomnia or felt anxious. For Khodosh, moving to a new city was a new opportunity to go cold turkey and stop websurfing, which meant no Internet at home. As he explains in this story, which recently […]

]]>Before Ilya Khodosh went off to graduate school, he spent a lot of time online, especially when he had insomnia or felt anxious. For Khodosh, moving to a new city was a new opportunity to go cold turkey and stop websurfing, which meant no Internet at home. As he explains in this story, which recently won first prize in a Jewish storytelling slam, that deprivation didn’t last long.

Ilya Khodosh is currently enrolled in a graduate theater program where he is studying criticism and playwriting. [Running time: 8:11.]

]]>http://www.tabletmag.com/podcasts/92729/easy-access/feed6Before Ilya Khodosh went off to graduate school, he spent a lot of time online, especially when he had insomnia or felt anxious. For Khodosh, moving to a new city was a new opportunity to go cold turkey and stop websurfing, which meant no Internet at home. As he explains in this story, which recently won first prize in a Jewish storytelling slam, that deprivation didn’t last long.
Ilya Khodosh is currently enrolled in a graduate theater program where he is studying criticism and playwriting. [Running time: 8:11.]
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<p>Before Ilya Khodosh went off to graduate school, he spent a lot of time online, especially when he had insomnia or felt anxious. For Khodosh, moving to a new city was a new opportunity to go cold turkey and stop websurfing, which meant no [...]Salonica Storieshttp://www.tabletmag.com/podcasts/91582/salonica-stories
http://www.tabletmag.com/podcasts/91582/salonica-stories#commentsMon, 27 Feb 2012 12:00:30 +0000http://www.tabletmag.com/?p=91582In the 19th century, Sa’adi Besalel a-Levi was an esteemed (if controversial) journalist, publisher, singer, and composer in Salonica, a Mediterranean port city whose 2,000-year-old Jewish community was later decimated in the Holocaust. He also wrote the earliest known Ladino-language memoir, which was all but lost until Stanford University history professor Aron Rodrigue found a […]

]]>In the 19th century, Sa’adi Besalel a-Levi was an esteemed (if controversial) journalist, publisher, singer, and composer in Salonica, a Mediterranean port city whose 2,000-year-old Jewish community was later decimated in the Holocaust. He also wrote the earliest known Ladino-language memoir, which was all but lost until Stanford University history professor Aron Rodrigue found a forgotten copy at Jerusalem’s Jewish National and University Library. Now the memoir is available to all, in an edition introduced and edited by Rodrigue and fellow historian Sarah Abrevaya Stein, and translated by Isaac Jerusalmi: A Jewish Voice From Ottoman Salonica has been published in English in tandem with a digital version of the original soletreo, or Ladino cursive. Rodrigue and Stein join Vox Tablet host Sara Ivry to talk about Sa’adi’s life, his obsession with the arbitrary rabbinic authority that led to his excommunication, and the surprising details about Jewish Salonica that find their way to us through his account. [Running time: 24:34.]

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Sarah Abrevaya Stein and Aron Rodrigue will discuss the memoir with Sara Ivry in New York City on March 29. Click here for more information.

]]>http://www.tabletmag.com/podcasts/91582/salonica-stories/feed6In the 19th century, Sa’adi Besalel a-Levi was an esteemed (if controversial) journalist, publisher, singer, and composer in Salonica, a Mediterranean port city whose 2,000-year-old Jewish community was later decimated in the Holocaust. He also wrote the earliest known Ladino-language memoir, which was all but lost until Stanford University history professor Aron Rodrigue found a forgotten copy at Jerusalem’s Jewish National and University Library. Now the memoir is available to all, in an edition introduced and edited by Rodrigue and fellow historian Sarah Abrevaya Stein, and translated by Isaac Jerusalmi: A Jewish Voice From Ottoman Salonica has been published in English in tandem with a digital version of the original soletreo, or Ladino cursive. Rodrigue and Stein join Vox Tablet host Sara Ivry to talk about Sa’adi’s life, his obsession with the arbitrary rabbinic authority that led to his excommunication, and the surprising details about Jewish Salonica that find their way to us through his account. [Running time: 24:34.]
Your browser does not support the audio element.
Sarah Abrevaya Stein and Aron Rodrigue will discuss the memoir with Sara Ivry in New York City on March 29. Click here for more information.
<p>In the 19th century, Sa’adi Besalel a-Levi was an esteemed (if controversial) journalist, publisher, singer, and composer in Salonica, a Mediterranean port city whose 2,000-year-old Jewish community was later decimated in the Holocaust. [...]The Projectionisthttp://www.tabletmag.com/podcasts/90859/the-projectionist
http://www.tabletmag.com/podcasts/90859/the-projectionist#commentsMon, 13 Feb 2012 12:00:31 +0000http://www.tabletmag.com/?p=90859Actor Antony Sher has won accolades for playing Shylock, Richard III, Cyrano de Bergerac, Macbeth, and Primo Levi. Knighted in 2000, he’s traveled a great distance from his quiet middle-class upbringing in Cape Town, South Africa, and even further from the world of his grandparents, who were Jewish immigrants from Lithuania. Now Sher is returning […]

]]>Actor Antony Sher has won accolades for playing Shylock, Richard III, Cyrano de Bergerac, Macbeth, and Primo Levi. Knighted in 2000, he’s traveled a great distance from his quiet middle-class upbringing in Cape Town, South Africa, and even further from the world of his grandparents, who were Jewish immigrants from Lithuania. Now Sher is returning to his roots in Travelling Light, an acclaimed new play by Nicholas Wright being produced by England’s National Theatre. (Selected National Theatre productions are broadcast to movie theaters worldwide via its NT Live program. Additional U.S. screenings of Travelling Light are scheduled for cities including Brooklyn, N.Y., Los Angeles, Chicago, Phoenix, and Minneapolis.) He plays Jacob Bindel, a wealthy timber merchant turned movie producer in an Eastern European town in the early 1900s. Through Bindel, the play explores how so many Jews came to be involved in the making of Hollywood. Hugh Levinson spoke with Sher at London’s Lyttleton Theatre, where Travelling Light is showing through June. [Running time: 16:30.]

]]>http://www.tabletmag.com/podcasts/90859/the-projectionist/feed2Actor Antony Sher has won accolades for playing Shylock, Richard III, Cyrano de Bergerac, Macbeth, and Primo Levi. Knighted in 2000, he’s traveled a great distance from his quiet middle-class upbringing in Cape Town, South Africa, and even further from the world of his grandparents, who were Jewish immigrants from Lithuania. Now Sher is returning to his roots in Travelling Light, an acclaimed new play by Nicholas Wright being produced by England’s National Theatre. (Selected National Theatre productions are broadcast to movie theaters worldwide via its NT Live program. Additional U.S. screenings of Travelling Light are scheduled for cities including Brooklyn, N.Y., Los Angeles, Chicago, Phoenix, and Minneapolis.) He plays Jacob Bindel, a wealthy timber merchant turned movie producer in an Eastern European town in the early 1900s. Through Bindel, the play explores how so many Jews came to be involved in the making of Hollywood. Hugh Levinson spoke with Sher at London’s Lyttleton Theatre, where Travelling Light is showing through June. [Running time: 16:30.]
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<p>Actor Antony Sher has won accolades for playing Shylock, Richard III, Cyrano de Bergerac, Macbeth, and Primo Levi. Knighted in 2000, he’s traveled a great distance from his quiet middle-class upbringing in Cape Town, South Africa, and [...]Grace Noteshttp://www.tabletmag.com/podcasts/89570/grace-notes
http://www.tabletmag.com/podcasts/89570/grace-notes#commentsMon, 30 Jan 2012 12:00:45 +0000http://www.tabletmag.com/?p=89570Virtuosic mandolin and clarinet player Andy Statman recently released his first album in five years. It’s called Old Brooklyn, and it includes collaborations with a number of top-notch musicians, including Béla Fleck and Paul Shaffer. Perhaps most unusual, though, is the track titled “The Lord Will Provide.” The song is an 18th-century hymn, and this […]

]]>Virtuosic mandolin and clarinet player Andy Statman recently released his first album in five years. It’s called Old Brooklyn, and it includes collaborations with a number of top-notch musicians, including Béla Fleck and Paul Shaffer. Perhaps most unusual, though, is the track titled “The Lord Will Provide.” The song is an 18th-century hymn, and this beautifully spare version is a collaboration between Statman, an Orthodox Jew, and country music star Ricky Skaggs, an evangelical Christian. Independent radio producer Stephanie Coleman wondered how this collaboration came about. Here’s the story, as told to Coleman by Statman and Skaggs. [Running time: 10:20.]

]]>http://www.tabletmag.com/podcasts/89570/grace-notes/feed4Virtuosic mandolin and clarinet player Andy Statman recently released his first album in five years. It’s called Old Brooklyn, and it includes collaborations with a number of top-notch musicians, including Béla Fleck and Paul Shaffer. Perhaps most unusual, though, is the track titled “The Lord Will Provide.” The song is an 18th-century hymn, and this beautifully spare version is a collaboration between Statman, an Orthodox Jew, and country music star Ricky Skaggs, an evangelical Christian. Independent radio producer Stephanie Coleman wondered how this collaboration came about. Here’s the story, as told to Coleman by Statman and Skaggs. [Running time: 10:20.]
Your browser does not support the audio element.
<p>Virtuosic mandolin and clarinet player Andy Statman recently released his first album in five years. It’s called Old Brooklyn, and it includes collaborations with a number of top-notch musicians, including Béla Fleck and Paul Shaffer. [...]Goodbye to All Thathttp://www.tabletmag.com/podcasts/88753/goodbye-to-all-that
http://www.tabletmag.com/podcasts/88753/goodbye-to-all-that#commentsMon, 23 Jan 2012 12:00:40 +0000http://www.tabletmag.com/?p=88753The Jewish community in Caracas has long been lively, prosperous, tight-knit, and devoted to the country that accepted so many of them as refugees during and after World War II. At its height, it numbered as many as 40,000 people. But in the years since President Hugo Chávez came into office, their sense of well-being […]

]]>The Jewish community in Caracas has long been lively, prosperous, tight-knit, and devoted to the country that accepted so many of them as refugees during and after World War II. At its height, it numbered as many as 40,000 people. But in the years since President Hugo Chávez came into office, their sense of well-being has eroded significantly. Like other wealthy Venezuelans, they have seen their economic opportunities diminished. Unlike other wealthy Venezuelans, they’ve been singled out in a rhetoric of class warfare that is sometimes implicitly, other times explicitly, anti-Semitic. In a few cases, that rhetoric has led to violence, as in 2009, when vandals broke into the Mariperez Synagogue, defacing it with anti-Semitic graffiti and destroying property. With their future uncertain, younger Jews are leaving Venezuela in droves, in many cases with their parents and grandparents following in their footsteps. Tablet’s Matthew Fishbane traveled to Caracas to report on how the community is faring, and he speaks with Vox Tablet host Sara Ivry about whom he met, what he saw, and what would be lost if just a handful of Caracas’ Jews remain. [Running time: 18:00]

]]>http://www.tabletmag.com/podcasts/88753/goodbye-to-all-that/feed3The Jewish community in Caracas has long been lively, prosperous, tight-knit, and devoted to the country that accepted so many of them as refugees during and after World War II. At its height, it numbered as many as 40,000 people. But in the years since President Hugo Chávez came into office, their sense of well-being has eroded significantly. Like other wealthy Venezuelans, they have seen their economic opportunities diminished. Unlike other wealthy Venezuelans, they’ve been singled out in a rhetoric of class warfare that is sometimes implicitly, other times explicitly, anti-Semitic. In a few cases, that rhetoric has led to violence, as in 2009, when vandals broke into the Mariperez Synagogue, defacing it with anti-Semitic graffiti and destroying property. With their future uncertain, younger Jews are leaving Venezuela in droves, in many cases with their parents and grandparents following in their footsteps. Tablet’s Matthew Fishbane traveled to Caracas to report on how the community is faring, and he speaks with Vox Tablet host Sara Ivry about whom he met, what he saw, and what would be lost if just a handful of Caracas’ Jews remain. [Running time: 18:00]
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<p>The Jewish community in Caracas has long been lively, prosperous, tight-knit, and devoted to the country that accepted so many of them as refugees during and after World War II. At its height, it numbered as many as 40,000 people. But in [...]Who Shall Livehttp://www.tabletmag.com/podcasts/86736/who-shall-live
http://www.tabletmag.com/podcasts/86736/who-shall-live#commentsTue, 17 Jan 2012 12:00:40 +0000http://www.tabletmag.com/?p=86736When Varian Fry, an American journalist, went to Europe in 1941 on behalf of the Emergency Rescue Committee, he went with a mission: to save a group of European artists and intellectuals from the Nazis. His endeavor succeeded. With the help of a small team, he rescued Hannah Arendt, Marc Chagall, and more than 2,200 […]

]]>When Varian Fry, an American journalist, went to Europe in 1941 on behalf of the Emergency Rescue Committee, he went with a mission: to save a group of European artists and intellectuals from the Nazis. His endeavor succeeded. With the help of a small team, he rescued Hannah Arendt, Marc Chagall, and more than 2,200 others. But at a time when Oskar Schindler and Raul Wallenberg are familiar names, Fry has been largely forgotten.

Journalist Dara Horn was determined to tell his story. In a revelatory Kindle Single published today by Tablet Magazine, Horn reports on how Fry came to his rescue work and what became of him after the war. (You can read a preview on Tablet.) But how did this hero decide whom to save in the first place? Horn spoke to Vox Tablet host Sara Ivy about Fry’s exploits, the arguably eugenics-like nature of his mission, the cultural heritage that was not protected by his and other rescue missions, and why so few know of his heroic work. [Running time: 22:09]

]]>http://www.tabletmag.com/podcasts/86736/who-shall-live/feed5When Varian Fry, an American journalist, went to Europe in 1941 on behalf of the Emergency Rescue Committee, he went with a mission: to save a group of European artists and intellectuals from the Nazis. His endeavor succeeded. With the help of a small team, he rescued Hannah Arendt, Marc Chagall, and more than 2,200 others. But at a time when Oskar Schindler and Raul Wallenberg are familiar names, Fry has been largely forgotten.
Journalist Dara Horn was determined to tell his story. In a revelatory Kindle Single published today by Tablet Magazine, Horn reports on how Fry came to his rescue work and what became of him after the war. (You can read a preview on Tablet.) But how did this hero decide whom to save in the first place? Horn spoke to Vox Tablet host Sara Ivy about Fry’s exploits, the arguably eugenics-like nature of his mission, the cultural heritage that was not protected by his and other rescue missions, and why so few know of his heroic work. [Running time: 22:09]
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<p>When Varian Fry, an American journalist, went to Europe in 1941 on behalf of the Emergency Rescue Committee, he went with a mission: to save a group of European artists and intellectuals from the Nazis. His endeavor succeeded. With the [...]Hope Lesshttp://www.tabletmag.com/podcasts/87577/hope-less-2
http://www.tabletmag.com/podcasts/87577/hope-less-2#commentsMon, 09 Jan 2012 12:00:16 +0000http://www.tabletmag.com/?p=87577What if the Holocaust’s most famous victim hadn’t died in Bergen-Belsen but had continued living in hiding, moving furtively from attic to attic, until she found herself a perch in a house in upstate New York? That’s the premise of Hope: A Tragedy, the new novel by Shalom Auslander. It follows Solomon Kugel, the owner […]

]]>What if the Holocaust’s most famous victim hadn’t died in Bergen-Belsen but had continued living in hiding, moving furtively from attic to attic, until she found herself a perch in a house in upstate New York? That’s the premise of Hope: A Tragedy, the new novel by Shalom Auslander. It follows Solomon Kugel, the owner of the house, who discovers an ancient, haggard Anne Frank upstairs struggling to finish a follow-up to her famous diary. Kugel is put-upon; his marriage is strained, he flails at work, and his mother, who lives with him, is obsessed with Jewish persecution and pretends that she herself was a victim of the Nazis. In addition, Kugel is in ongoing conversation with a guru who posits that nothing good ever comes of optimism.

The novel, Auslander’s first, is both entertaining and disconcerting and Auslander, a Tablet columnist, joins Vox Tablet host Sara Ivry to discuss German tourguides, Palestinian cabdrivers, and the pros and cons of living with hope. (To buy tickets to see Auslander discuss the novel in person on January 25 in San Francisco, click here.) Warning: The interview includes explicit language. [Running time: 20:51.]

]]>http://www.tabletmag.com/podcasts/87577/hope-less-2/feed5What if the Holocaust’s most famous victim hadn’t died in Bergen-Belsen but had continued living in hiding, moving furtively from attic to attic, until she found herself a perch in a house in upstate New York? That’s the premise of Hope: A Tragedy, the new novel by Shalom Auslander. It follows Solomon Kugel, the owner of the house, who discovers an ancient, haggard Anne Frank upstairs struggling to finish a follow-up to her famous diary. Kugel is put-upon; his marriage is strained, he flails at work, and his mother, who lives with him, is obsessed with Jewish persecution and pretends that she herself was a victim of the Nazis. In addition, Kugel is in ongoing conversation with a guru who posits that nothing good ever comes of optimism.
The novel, Auslander’s first, is both entertaining and disconcerting and Auslander, a Tablet columnist, joins Vox Tablet host Sara Ivry to discuss German tourguides, Palestinian cabdrivers, and the pros and cons of living with hope. (To buy tickets to see Auslander discuss the novel in person on January 25 in San Francisco, click here.) Warning: The interview includes explicit language. [Running time: 20:51.]
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<p>What if the Holocaust’s most famous victim hadn’t died in Bergen-Belsen but had continued living in hiding, moving furtively from attic to attic, until she found herself a perch in a house in upstate New York? That’s the premise of [...]yesSettling Downhttp://www.tabletmag.com/podcasts/86358/settling-down
http://www.tabletmag.com/podcasts/86358/settling-down#commentsMon, 19 Dec 2011 12:00:12 +0000http://www.tabletmag.com/?p=86358Chani Getter was married off by her ultra-Orthodox family when she was 17. By the time she was 24, she had three children. She was deeply religious and deeply unhappy. She knew she was gay and could not stay in her marriage, but she also knew that she wanted to stay within the ultra-Orthodox community […]

]]>Chani Getter was married off by her ultra-Orthodox family when she was 17. By the time she was 24, she had three children. She was deeply religious and deeply unhappy. She knew she was gay and could not stay in her marriage, but she also knew that she wanted to stay within the ultra-Orthodox community and raise an observant family. She is one of seven women (including a male-to-female transsexual) profiled in DevOUT, a new documentary produced and directed by Diana Neille and Sana Gulzar. Each of the women in the film is attempting to follow the strictures of Orthodoxy while embracing a sexual identity that the religious tradition has labeled an abomination.

This film is not covering entirely new turf. In 2001, Sandi Dubowski’s Trembling Before G-d also profiled gay Orthodox men and women. But DevOUT’s subjects are are settling down, raising families, and forcing their communities to come to terms with their existence, with varying degrees of success.

Neille, from South Africa, and Gulzar, from Pakistan, made the film while master’s students at the Columbia University School of Journalism. Neille spoke to Vox Tablet host Sara Ivry from her home in Johannesburg, about the movie, the difficulties their subjects have faced, and how these two non-Jewish, straight women made such a powerful film on such a sensitive topic. [Running time: 18:13.]

]]>http://www.tabletmag.com/podcasts/86358/settling-down/feed18Chani Getter was married off by her ultra-Orthodox family when she was 17. By the time she was 24, she had three children. She was deeply religious and deeply unhappy. She knew she was gay and could not stay in her marriage, but she also knew that she wanted to stay within the ultra-Orthodox community and raise an observant family. She is one of seven women (including a male-to-female transsexual) profiled in DevOUT, a new documentary produced and directed by Diana Neille and Sana Gulzar. Each of the women in the film is attempting to follow the strictures of Orthodoxy while embracing a sexual identity that the religious tradition has labeled an abomination.
This film is not covering entirely new turf. In 2001, Sandi Dubowski’s Trembling Before G-d also profiled gay Orthodox men and women. But DevOUT’s subjects are are settling down, raising families, and forcing their communities to come to terms with their existence, with varying degrees of success.
Neille, from South Africa, and Gulzar, from Pakistan, made the film while master’s students at the Columbia University School of Journalism. Neille spoke to Vox Tablet host Sara Ivry from her home in Johannesburg, about the movie, the difficulties their subjects have faced, and how these two non-Jewish, straight women made such a powerful film on such a sensitive topic. [Running time: 18:13.]
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<p>Chani Getter was married off by her ultra-Orthodox family when she was 17. By the time she was 24, she had three children. She was deeply religious and deeply unhappy. She knew she was gay and could not stay in her marriage, but she also [...]Disney’s Worldhttp://www.tabletmag.com/podcasts/85743/disney%e2%80%99s-world
http://www.tabletmag.com/podcasts/85743/disney%e2%80%99s-world#commentsMon, 12 Dec 2011 12:00:14 +0000http://www.tabletmag.com/?p=85743Walt Disney was not a controversial figure during his lifetime. But after his death in 1966, historians began putting forth a variety of disquieting revelations about him: The animator and studio chief had testified before the House Committee on Un-American Activities, it turned out, and he may have been an FBI informant. He was allegedly […]

]]>Walt Disney was not a controversial figure during his lifetime. But after his death in 1966, historians began putting forth a variety of disquieting revelations about him: The animator and studio chief had testified before the House Committee on Un-American Activities, it turned out, and he may have been an FBI informant. He was allegedly interested in cryogenics. And he was reportedly prone to making anti-Semitic remarks. But subsequent biographers disagreed, sparking a long battle over Disney’s legacy.

Eric Molinsky worked in the animation industry, and has long wondered not only if the claims of Disney’s anti-Semitism are true but also why they remain a point of fascination and ridicule among cartoonists and others nearly a half-century after his death. For this week’s Vox Tablet, Molinsky, now a radio producer, spoke to an animation historian, a Disney-obsessed playwright, and a fairy-tale scholar in an effort to understand if Disney the man, or Disney’s world view, was truly bad for the Jews. [Running time: 10:37.]

]]>http://www.tabletmag.com/podcasts/85743/disney%e2%80%99s-world/feed8Walt Disney was not a controversial figure during his lifetime. But after his death in 1966, historians began putting forth a variety of disquieting revelations about him: The animator and studio chief had testified before the House Committee on Un-American Activities, it turned out, and he may have been an FBI informant. He was allegedly interested in cryogenics. And he was reportedly prone to making anti-Semitic remarks. But subsequent biographers disagreed, sparking a long battle over Disney’s legacy.
Eric Molinsky worked in the animation industry, and has long wondered not only if the claims of Disney’s anti-Semitism are true but also why they remain a point of fascination and ridicule among cartoonists and others nearly a half-century after his death. For this week’s Vox Tablet, Molinsky, now a radio producer, spoke to an animation historian, a Disney-obsessed playwright, and a fairy-tale scholar in an effort to understand if Disney the man, or Disney’s world view, was truly bad for the Jews. [Running time: 10:37.]
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<p>Walt Disney was not a controversial figure during his lifetime. But after his death in 1966, historians began putting forth a variety of disquieting revelations about him: The animator and studio chief had testified before the House [...]Wonderstruckhttp://www.tabletmag.com/podcasts/84188/wonderstruck
http://www.tabletmag.com/podcasts/84188/wonderstruck#commentsTue, 29 Nov 2011 12:00:42 +0000http://www.tabletmag.com/?p=84188Several years ago a fan of the multi-instrumentalist Basya Schechter approached her with a copy of a book of Yiddish poems. The verses were by Rabbi Abraham Joshua Heschel, who arrived in the United States from Europe in 1940, when he was 33 years old. Heschel was born in Poland and gained renown for his […]

]]>Several years ago a fan of the multi-instrumentalist Basya Schechter approached her with a copy of a book of Yiddish poems. The verses were by Rabbi Abraham Joshua Heschel, who arrived in the United States from Europe in 1940, when he was 33 years old. Heschel was born in Poland and gained renown for his theological works and for his role as a Civil Rights activist. He was far less known for his poetry, written when he was in his early 20s, about intimate relationships—both with God and with people. Schechter’s fan asked her to set Heschel’s poems to music. It took some time for Schechter, who was raised in the Orthodox Brooklyn neighborhood of Borough Park and who heads the band Pharaoh’s Daughter, to take up that challenge. Yet take it up she did, and the result—a melodic mix of Middle Eastern, African, and lesser-known Hasidic influences—can be heard on Songs of Wonder, a new album out from Tzadik.

Basya Schechter invites Vox Tablet host Sara Ivry into her home in downtown Manhattan to talk about the connections between Heschel’s little-known poetry and his later works, and about her own journey from yeshiva girl to widely acclaimed singer-songwriter. [Running time: 24:06.]

]]>http://www.tabletmag.com/podcasts/84188/wonderstruck/feed7Several years ago a fan of the multi-instrumentalist Basya Schechter approached her with a copy of a book of Yiddish poems. The verses were by Rabbi Abraham Joshua Heschel, who arrived in the United States from Europe in 1940, when he was 33 years old. Heschel was born in Poland and gained renown for his theological works and for his role as a Civil Rights activist. He was far less known for his poetry, written when he was in his early 20s, about intimate relationships—both with God and with people. Schechter’s fan asked her to set Heschel’s poems to music. It took some time for Schechter, who was raised in the Orthodox Brooklyn neighborhood of Borough Park and who heads the band Pharaoh’s Daughter, to take up that challenge. Yet take it up she did, and the result—a melodic mix of Middle Eastern, African, and lesser-known Hasidic influences—can be heard on Songs of Wonder, a new album out from Tzadik.
Basya Schechter invites Vox Tablet host Sara Ivry into her home in downtown Manhattan to talk about the connections between Heschel’s little-known poetry and his later works, and about her own journey from yeshiva girl to widely acclaimed singer-songwriter. [Running time: 24:06.]
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<p>Several years ago a fan of the multi-instrumentalist Basya Schechter approached her with a copy of a book of Yiddish poems. The verses were by Rabbi Abraham Joshua Heschel, who arrived in the United States from Europe in 1940, when he was [...]American Masterhttp://www.tabletmag.com/podcasts/83596/american-master
http://www.tabletmag.com/podcasts/83596/american-master#respondFri, 18 Nov 2011 12:00:07 +0000http://www.tabletmag.com/?p=83596It was 1982, and Robert Weide was 22 years old, when he first approached Woody Allen about profiling the comic in a documentary. Weide, a fan of comedy legends since his childhood, had already made The Marx Brothers in a Nutshell, an acclaimed film about Groucho and his brothers, but Allen politely turned him down. […]

]]>It was 1982, and Robert Weide was 22 years old, when he first approached Woody Allen about profiling the comic in a documentary. Weide, a fan of comedy legends since his childhood, had already made The Marx Brothers in a Nutshell, an acclaimed film about Groucho and his brothers, but Allen politely turned him down. Instead, the filmmaker turned his focus to Mort Sahl, about whom he made 1989’s Mort Sahl: The Loyal Opposition, and Lenny Bruce, subject of his Emmy- and Oscar-nominated 1998 film, Lenny Bruce: Swear to Tell the Truth. Then he helped Larry David create Curb Your Enthusiasm, for which he served as executive producer for five seasons. When he approached Allen again, in 2008, the answer was yes.

The result is Woody Allen: A Documentary, a three-hour, two-part film for which Allen granted Weide extensive access to his life. It premieres Sunday night on PBS, as part of the “American Masters” series.

Weide joined Vox Tablet host Sara Ivry to discuss why he makes films about comedians, how Allen directs his films, and what made Woody finally say OK. [Running time: 18:51.]

]]>http://www.tabletmag.com/podcasts/83596/american-master/feed0It was 1982, and Robert Weide was 22 years old, when he first approached Woody Allen about profiling the comic in a documentary. Weide, a fan of comedy legends since his childhood, had already made The Marx Brothers in a Nutshell, an acclaimed film about Groucho and his brothers, but Allen politely turned him down. Instead, the filmmaker turned his focus to Mort Sahl, about whom he made 1989’s Mort Sahl: The Loyal Opposition, and Lenny Bruce, subject of his Emmy- and Oscar-nominated 1998 film, Lenny Bruce: Swear to Tell the Truth. Then he helped Larry David create Curb Your Enthusiasm, for which he served as executive producer for five seasons. When he approached Allen again, in 2008, the answer was yes.
The result is Woody Allen: A Documentary, a three-hour, two-part film for which Allen granted Weide extensive access to his life. It premieres Sunday night on PBS, as part of the “American Masters” series.
Weide joined Vox Tablet host Sara Ivry to discuss why he makes films about comedians, how Allen directs his films, and what made Woody finally say OK. [Running time: 18:51.]
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<p>It was 1982, and Robert Weide was 22 years old, when he first approached Woody Allen about profiling the comic in a documentary. Weide, a fan of comedy legends since his childhood, had already made The Marx Brothers in a Nutshell, an [...]Survey Sayshttp://www.tabletmag.com/podcasts/82958/survey-says
http://www.tabletmag.com/podcasts/82958/survey-says#commentsMon, 14 Nov 2011 12:00:40 +0000http://www.tabletmag.com/?p=82958Is there a custom to place a cat, pieces of cake, or something else in the crib before one lays the child in it? Is biting off the protuberance at the end of an etrog considered a protection for a pregnant woman? If two zaddikim quarreled in this world, do they make peace in the […]

]]>Is there a custom to place a cat, pieces of cake, or something else in the crib before one lays the child in it? Is biting off the protuberance at the end of an etrog considered a protection for a pregnant woman? If two zaddikim quarreled in this world, do they make peace in the next world?

These are questions from the Jewish Ethnographic Program, a vast questionnaire developed by ethnographer S. An-sky between 1912 and 1914 for dissemination throughout the Pale of Settlement, the part of Eastern Europe that was then home to 40 percent of the world’s Jews. An-sky, best known as the playwright of The Dybbuk, hoped the questionnaire would record waning folk beliefs and practices that he believed were at the core of Jewish life. But World War I interfered, and his ethnographic expedition was called off. An-sky died in 1920, and Jewish life in the Pale of Settlement would soon disappear forever.

Now the entire questionnaire, originally written in Yiddish, has been made available in English, in The Jewish Dark Continent: Life and Death in the Russian Pale of Settlement. Nathaniel Deutsch, a professor of literature and history at the University of California, Santa Cruz, consulted with Yiddishists, former shtetl inhabitants, and Brooklyn-based Hasidim to produce this translation. Vox Tablet host Sara Ivry spoke to Deutsch, who argues that the questionnaire, while clearly a failed endeavor, nevertheless reveals many details about shtetl life that would otherwise be lost. [Running time: 27:42.]

]]>http://www.tabletmag.com/podcasts/82958/survey-says/feed6Is there a custom to place a cat, pieces of cake, or something else in the crib before one lays the child in it? Is biting off the protuberance at the end of an etrog considered a protection for a pregnant woman? If two zaddikim quarreled in this world, do they make peace in the next world?
These are questions from the Jewish Ethnographic Program, a vast questionnaire developed by ethnographer S. An-sky between 1912 and 1914 for dissemination throughout the Pale of Settlement, the part of Eastern Europe that was then home to 40 percent of the world’s Jews. An-sky, best known as the playwright of The Dybbuk, hoped the questionnaire would record waning folk beliefs and practices that he believed were at the core of Jewish life. But World War I interfered, and his ethnographic expedition was called off. An-sky died in 1920, and Jewish life in the Pale of Settlement would soon disappear forever.
Now the entire questionnaire, originally written in Yiddish, has been made available in English, in The Jewish Dark Continent: Life and Death in the Russian Pale of Settlement. Nathaniel Deutsch, a professor of literature and history at the University of California, Santa Cruz, consulted with Yiddishists, former shtetl inhabitants, and Brooklyn-based Hasidim to produce this translation. Vox Tablet host Sara Ivry spoke to Deutsch, who argues that the questionnaire, while clearly a failed endeavor, nevertheless reveals many details about shtetl life that would otherwise be lost. [Running time: 27:42.]
Your browser does not support the audio element.
<p>Is there a custom to place a cat, pieces of cake, or something else in the crib before one lays the child in it? Is biting off the protuberance at the end of an etrog considered a protection for a pregnant woman? If two zaddikim quarreled [...]Preoccupiedhttp://www.tabletmag.com/podcasts/82527/preoccupied
http://www.tabletmag.com/podcasts/82527/preoccupied#commentsMon, 07 Nov 2011 11:00:14 +0000http://www.tabletmag.com/?p=82527It’s been nearly two months since the Occupy Wall Street protesters unrolled their first tarps in Lower Manhattan’s Zuccotti Park. What was once merely a blip on a few Twitter feeds is now a world-wide phenomenon, with occupations in more than a thousand cities and towns in 80-odd countries. But in the absence of any […]

]]>It’s been nearly two months since the Occupy Wall Street protesters unrolled their first tarps in Lower Manhattan’s Zuccotti Park. What was once merely a blip on a few Twitter feeds is now a world-wide phenomenon, with occupations in more than a thousand cities and towns in 80-odd countries. But in the absence of any leadership or specific set of demands, it’s hard to say what this movement is, who it represents, and where it’s headed. Even those who agree with its basic message–that the income gap between the rich and the rest in this country is immoral and unsustainable–disagree about Occupy Wall Street’s potential to bring about meaningful change.

At their respective pulpits, physical and virtual, Andy Bachman, senior rabbi at Congregation Beth Elohim in Park Slope, Brooklyn, and Marc Tracy, Tablet Magazine’s Scroll blogger, have had a lot to say about the movement since its inception. This week on Vox Tablet, the two join host Sara Ivry to lay out their arguments for and against the movement. (Of course, being liberals, neither man is unequivocal in his position.) [Running time: 27:00.]

]]>http://www.tabletmag.com/podcasts/82527/preoccupied/feed7It’s been nearly two months since the Occupy Wall Street protesters unrolled their first tarps in Lower Manhattan’s Zuccotti Park. What was once merely a blip on a few Twitter feeds is now a world-wide phenomenon, with occupations in more than a thousand cities and towns in 80-odd countries. But in the absence of any leadership or specific set of demands, it’s hard to say what this movement is, who it represents, and where it’s headed. Even those who agree with its basic message–that the income gap between the rich and the rest in this country is immoral and unsustainable–disagree about Occupy Wall Street’s potential to bring about meaningful change.
At their respective pulpits, physical and virtual, Andy Bachman, senior rabbi at Congregation Beth Elohim in Park Slope, Brooklyn, and Marc Tracy, Tablet Magazine’s Scroll blogger, have had a lot to say about the movement since its inception. This week on Vox Tablet, the two join host Sara Ivry to lay out their arguments for and against the movement. (Of course, being liberals, neither man is unequivocal in his position.) [Running time: 27:00.]
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<p>It’s been nearly two months since the Occupy Wall Street protesters unrolled their first tarps in Lower Manhattan’s Zuccotti Park. What was once merely a blip on a few Twitter feeds is now a world-wide phenomenon, with occupations in [...]Flesh and Bloodhttp://www.tabletmag.com/podcasts/81699/flesh-and-blood
http://www.tabletmag.com/podcasts/81699/flesh-and-blood#commentsFri, 28 Oct 2011 11:00:40 +0000http://www.tabletmag.com/?p=81699These days there is a lot to worry about: global warming, financial collapse, terrorism—you name it. For writer Max Brooks, the threat that trumps them all is zombies. He sounded a warning call about these walking dead in 2003 with The Zombie Survival Guide, followed three years later by World War Z: An Oral History […]

]]>These days there is a lot to worry about: global warming, financial collapse, terrorism—you name it. For writer Max Brooks, the threat that trumps them all is zombies. He sounded a warning call about these walking dead in 2003 with The Zombie Survival Guide, followed three years later by World War Z: An Oral History of the Zombie War, an immensely popular account of a massive zombie outbreak (the movie version, starring Brad Pitt, is due out in December 2012).

Brooks joins Vox Tablet host Sara Ivry on the podcast to discuss the perils of dressing up like a zombie on Halloween, the particular horrors that a zombie infestation represents to Jews, and the origins of his own zombie fears—traced to one fateful night circa 1985 when Mel Brooks and Anne Bancroft opted not to hire a babysitter. [Running time: 14:40.]

]]>http://www.tabletmag.com/podcasts/81699/flesh-and-blood/feed4These days there is a lot to worry about: global warming, financial collapse, terrorism—you name it. For writer Max Brooks, the threat that trumps them all is zombies. He sounded a warning call about these walking dead in 2003 with The Zombie Survival Guide, followed three years later by World War Z: An Oral History of the Zombie War, an immensely popular account of a massive zombie outbreak (the movie version, starring Brad Pitt, is due out in December 2012).
Brooks joins Vox Tablet host Sara Ivry on the podcast to discuss the perils of dressing up like a zombie on Halloween, the particular horrors that a zombie infestation represents to Jews, and the origins of his own zombie fears—traced to one fateful night circa 1985 when Mel Brooks and Anne Bancroft opted not to hire a babysitter. [Running time: 14:40.]
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<p>These days there is a lot to worry about: global warming, financial collapse, terrorism—you name it. For writer Max Brooks, the threat that trumps them all is zombies. He sounded a warning call about these walking dead in 2003 with The [...]Father Figurehttp://www.tabletmag.com/podcasts/81064/father-figure
http://www.tabletmag.com/podcasts/81064/father-figure#commentsMon, 24 Oct 2011 11:00:35 +0000http://www.tabletmag.com/?p=81064In 1900, a 14-year-old Jewish boy in Poland named David Gruen founded a Zionist youth group. He made his way to Palestine when he was 20, where he eventually changed his last name to Ben-Gurion. He went on to become a founding father of Israel and its first prime minister. One of Ben-Gurion’s key aides […]

]]>In 1900, a 14-year-old Jewish boy in Poland named David Gruen founded a Zionist youth group. He made his way to Palestine when he was 20, where he eventually changed his last name to Ben-Gurion. He went on to become a founding father of Israel and its first prime minister. One of Ben-Gurion’s key aides in founding the Jewish state was Shimon Peres, now the country’s president. Thirty-seven years younger than his hero, Peres similarly emigrated from Poland to Palestine and similarly served as Israel’s prime minister. Peres won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1994, along with Yitzhak Rabin and Yasser Arafat, for his efforts in the talks that led to the Oslo Accords.

With the help of journalist David Landau, Peres has written a new biography of Ben-Gurion, his mentor: Ben-Gurion: A Political Life, available now from Nextbook Press. Landau, a former editor of Haaretz and Israel correspondent of The Economist, spoke to Vox Tablet host Sara Ivry about Ben-Gurion, his realpolitik approach to leadership, and what lessons his example can provide to Israel’s leaders today. [Running time: 30:09.]

]]>http://www.tabletmag.com/podcasts/81064/father-figure/feed6In 1900, a 14-year-old Jewish boy in Poland named David Gruen founded a Zionist youth group. He made his way to Palestine when he was 20, where he eventually changed his last name to Ben-Gurion. He went on to become a founding father of Israel and its first prime minister. One of Ben-Gurion’s key aides in founding the Jewish state was Shimon Peres, now the country’s president. Thirty-seven years younger than his hero, Peres similarly emigrated from Poland to Palestine and similarly served as Israel’s prime minister. Peres won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1994, along with Yitzhak Rabin and Yasser Arafat, for his efforts in the talks that led to the Oslo Accords.
With the help of journalist David Landau, Peres has written a new biography of Ben-Gurion, his mentor: Ben-Gurion: A Political Life, available now from Nextbook Press. Landau, a former editor of Haaretz and Israel correspondent of The Economist, spoke to Vox Tablet host Sara Ivry about Ben-Gurion, his realpolitik approach to leadership, and what lessons his example can provide to Israel’s leaders today. [Running time: 30:09.]
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<p>In 1900, a 14-year-old Jewish boy in Poland named David Gruen founded a Zionist youth group. He made his way to Palestine when he was 20, where he eventually changed his last name to Ben-Gurion. He went on to become a founding father of [...]Conservadoxhttp://www.tabletmag.com/podcasts/80198/conservadox
http://www.tabletmag.com/podcasts/80198/conservadox#commentsMon, 10 Oct 2011 11:00:58 +0000http://www.tabletmag.com/?p=80198Sukkot, which begins later this week, celebrates the end of the harvest season. People decorate their sukkahs with branches and fruits as a way of giving thanks for the season’s bounty. Yet Jews generally shy away from nature worship, with its echoes of idolatry and paganism. It is even argued that Judaism’s human-centered worldview—the belief […]

]]>Sukkot, which begins later this week, celebrates the end of the harvest season. People decorate their sukkahs with branches and fruits as a way of giving thanks for the season’s bounty. Yet Jews generally shy away from nature worship, with its echoes of idolatry and paganism. It is even argued that Judaism’s human-centered worldview—the belief that humans alone are made in God’s image—makes us particularly ill-suited to respond to warnings about shrinking glaciers and dying species.

How, then, does a religious Jew who is deeply concerned about threats to the environment galvanize her community? Evonne Marzouk, the founder and executive director of Canfei Nesharim, a Jewish environmental organization, addressed that question for Vox Tablet. She spoke to host Sara Ivry about rabbinical and Torah-based justifications for making environmental sustainability a priority, her own journey to environmental advocacy, and the unique skills Orthodox Jews can bring to the challenges of sustainable living. [Running time: 19:38.]

]]>http://www.tabletmag.com/podcasts/80198/conservadox/feed1Sukkot, which begins later this week, celebrates the end of the harvest season. People decorate their sukkahs with branches and fruits as a way of giving thanks for the season’s bounty. Yet Jews generally shy away from nature worship, with its echoes of idolatry and paganism. It is even argued that Judaism’s human-centered worldview—the belief that humans alone are made in God’s image—makes us particularly ill-suited to respond to warnings about shrinking glaciers and dying species.
How, then, does a religious Jew who is deeply concerned about threats to the environment galvanize her community? Evonne Marzouk, the founder and executive director of Canfei Nesharim, a Jewish environmental organization, addressed that question for Vox Tablet. She spoke to host Sara Ivry about rabbinical and Torah-based justifications for making environmental sustainability a priority, her own journey to environmental advocacy, and the unique skills Orthodox Jews can bring to the challenges of sustainable living. [Running time: 19:38.]
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<p>Sukkot, which begins later this week, celebrates the end of the harvest season. People decorate their sukkahs with branches and fruits as a way of giving thanks for the season’s bounty. Yet Jews generally shy away from nature worship, [...]Unforgivenhttp://www.tabletmag.com/podcasts/79475/unforgiven
Mon, 03 Oct 2011 11:00:07 +0000http://www.tabletmag.com/?p=79475Blasphemy and Other Serious Crimes, the latest album from the jazz-metal band Pitom, has a title that makes explicit reference to the vidui, or confession—one of Yom Kippur’s central prayers. The vidui is a recitation of the many ways in which we sin—by robbery, by lying, by blasphemy. But while the album may flirt with […]

]]>Blasphemy and Other Serious Crimes, the latest album from the jazz-metal band Pitom, has a title that makes explicit reference to the vidui, or confession—one of Yom Kippur’s central prayers. The vidui is a recitation of the many ways in which we sin—by robbery, by lying, by blasphemy. But while the album may flirt with sin in its raucous approach, it comes from a place of devotion. Yoshie Fruchter, the leader of Pitom, is the son and grandson of cantors, and professes an abiding love for the traditional melodies sung on Yom Kippur. The songs on the album, which was released by John Zorn’s Tzadik label, are meant to invoke the intense emotions that accompany the holiday’s centuries-old prayers. The result is rich, loud, and cathartic.

For Vox Tablet, Fruchter and Jeremy Brown, Pitom’s violinist, played a stripped-down version of the track “Neilah,” and they explained to host Sara Ivry why a jazz-metal-rock take on the Day of Atonement seemed like a good idea. [Running time: 15:09.]

]]>Blasphemy and Other Serious Crimes, the latest album from the jazz-metal band Pitom, has a title that makes explicit reference to the vidui, or confession—one of Yom Kippur’s central prayers. The vidui is a recitation of the many ways in which we sin—by robbery, by lying, by blasphemy. But while the album may flirt with sin in its raucous approach, it comes from a place of devotion. Yoshie Fruchter, the leader of Pitom, is the son and grandson of cantors, and professes an abiding love for the traditional melodies sung on Yom Kippur. The songs on the album, which was released by John Zorn’s Tzadik label, are meant to invoke the intense emotions that accompany the holiday’s centuries-old prayers. The result is rich, loud, and cathartic.
For Vox Tablet, Fruchter and Jeremy Brown, Pitom’s violinist, played a stripped-down version of the track “Neilah,” and they explained to host Sara Ivry why a jazz-metal-rock take on the Day of Atonement seemed like a good idea. [Running time: 15:09.]
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<p>Blasphemy and Other Serious Crimes, the latest album from the jazz-metal band Pitom, has a title that makes explicit reference to the vidui, or confession—one of Yom Kippur’s central prayers. The vidui is a recitation of the many ways [...]Paper Chasehttp://www.tabletmag.com/podcasts/79141/paper-chase
http://www.tabletmag.com/podcasts/79141/paper-chase#respondMon, 26 Sep 2011 11:00:55 +0000http://www.tabletmag.com/?p=79141Like Isaac Bashevis Singer, his fellow Yiddish writer, Chaim Grade (his last name is pronounced GRAH-duh) fled the Russian Empire and settled in New York, where he established himself as a major figure in the literary world. But while Singer’s fame flourished in America, Grade’s reach grew more limited. After Grade died in 1982, scholars, […]

]]>Like Isaac Bashevis Singer, his fellow Yiddish writer, Chaim Grade (his last name is pronounced GRAH-duh) fled the Russian Empire and settled in New York, where he established himself as a major figure in the literary world. But while Singer’s fame flourished in America, Grade’s reach grew more limited. After Grade died in 1982, scholars, translators, and publishers tried to acquire his unpublished works for posthumous publication but were stymied by Grade’s widow. Fiercely protective of her husband’s legacy, Inna Grade rebuffed nearly all who approached her. Meanwhile, the Grade apartment in the Bronx would become an impassable and grimy shrine to her husband’s papers and books.

Inna Grade died last year. In the ensuing months, Yiddishists have thrilled to the possibility that they will finally gain access to her husband’s extensive archive and perhaps come upon an unpublished gem of a manuscript. For now, though, the hunt is on hold, as the public administrator of the Bronx has yet to determine which of six competing institutions will inherit Grade’s papers. Meanwhile, the archive is in the provisional custody of the YIVO Institute for Jewish Research. YIVO Executive Director Jonathan Brent spoke to Vox Tablet host Sara Ivry about the reasons for Chaim Grade’s relative obscurity, the ghosts lurking in the volumes he left behind, and his towering significance as a writer—Grade is to Vilna, Brent says, as William Faulkner is to the American South. [Running time: 26:21.]

]]>http://www.tabletmag.com/podcasts/79141/paper-chase/feed0Like Isaac Bashevis Singer, his fellow Yiddish writer, Chaim Grade (his last name is pronounced GRAH-duh) fled the Russian Empire and settled in New York, where he established himself as a major figure in the literary world. But while Singer’s fame flourished in America, Grade’s reach grew more limited. After Grade died in 1982, scholars, translators, and publishers tried to acquire his unpublished works for posthumous publication but were stymied by Grade’s widow. Fiercely protective of her husband’s legacy, Inna Grade rebuffed nearly all who approached her. Meanwhile, the Grade apartment in the Bronx would become an impassable and grimy shrine to her husband’s papers and books.
Inna Grade died last year. In the ensuing months, Yiddishists have thrilled to the possibility that they will finally gain access to her husband’s extensive archive and perhaps come upon an unpublished gem of a manuscript. For now, though, the hunt is on hold, as the public administrator of the Bronx has yet to determine which of six competing institutions will inherit Grade’s papers. Meanwhile, the archive is in the provisional custody of the YIVO Institute for Jewish Research. YIVO Executive Director Jonathan Brent spoke to Vox Tablet host Sara Ivry about the reasons for Chaim Grade’s relative obscurity, the ghosts lurking in the volumes he left behind, and his towering significance as a writer—Grade is to Vilna, Brent says, as William Faulkner is to the American South. [Running time: 26:21.]
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<p>Like Isaac Bashevis Singer, his fellow Yiddish writer, Chaim Grade (his last name is pronounced GRAH-duh) fled the Russian Empire and settled in New York, where he established himself as a major figure in the literary world. But while [...]On the Groundhttp://www.tabletmag.com/podcasts/78820/on-the-ground
Thu, 22 Sep 2011 11:00:02 +0000http://www.tabletmag.com/?p=78820Nathan Thrall, a Middle East analyst for the International Crisis Group, is also a reporter, and since 2006 he’s been filing stories from Israel, the West Bank, and Gaza for publications including the New York Review of Books (and Tablet Magazine). He recently spoke to Tablet Magazine contributing editor Adam Chandler about what he thinks […]

]]>Nathan Thrall, a Middle East analyst for the International Crisis Group, is also a reporter, and since 2006 he’s been filing stories from Israel, the West Bank, and Gaza for publications including the New York Review of Books (and Tablet Magazine). He recently spoke to Tablet Magazine contributing editor Adam Chandler about what he thinks will happen in the West Bank and Gaza following the Palestinian bid for statehood at the United Nations this week. His recent conversations with Palestinians in the region, he told Chandler, have revealed a population inured to false hopes and accordingly far less exercised about the planned Security Council move than their Israeli counterparts. [Running time: 18:30.]

]]>Nathan Thrall, a Middle East analyst for the International Crisis Group, is also a reporter, and since 2006 he’s been filing stories from Israel, the West Bank, and Gaza for publications including the New York Review of Books (and Tablet Magazine). He recently spoke to Tablet Magazine contributing editor Adam Chandler about what he thinks will happen in the West Bank and Gaza following the Palestinian bid for statehood at the United Nations this week. His recent conversations with Palestinians in the region, he told Chandler, have revealed a population inured to false hopes and accordingly far less exercised about the planned Security Council move than their Israeli counterparts. [Running time: 18:30.]
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<p>Nathan Thrall, a Middle East analyst for the International Crisis Group, is also a reporter, and since 2006 he’s been filing stories from Israel, the West Bank, and Gaza for publications including the New York Review of Books (and Tablet [...]Mother’s Helperhttp://www.tabletmag.com/podcasts/77601/mothers-helper
http://www.tabletmag.com/podcasts/77601/mothers-helper#commentsMon, 12 Sep 2011 11:00:58 +0000http://www.tabletmag.com/?p=77601In her best-selling memoir, The Man in the White Sharkskin Suit, journalist Lucette Lagnado brought to life the multiethnic metropolis of Cairo in the 1940s and 1950s. Lagnado’s father, Leon, a debonair man-about-town, thrived in that cosmopolitan world, and young Lucette basked in his glow. But Egypt’s 1952 revolution changed all that. The family held […]

]]>In her best-selling memoir, The Man in the White Sharkskin Suit, journalist Lucette Lagnado brought to life the multiethnic metropolis of Cairo in the 1940s and 1950s. Lagnado’s father, Leon, a debonair man-about-town, thrived in that cosmopolitan world, and young Lucette basked in his glow. But Egypt’s 1952 revolution changed all that. The family held on for a time, finally immigrating to the United States in 1962, and Lagnado’s book—winner of the 2008 Sami Rohr Prize for Jewish Literature—arrestingly described her father’s steady decline.

Now she has written a second memoir, The Arrogant Years: One Girl’s Search for Her Lost Youth, that offers a loving and often devastating portrait of her mother and all that she sacrificed to keep her family intact, both in Egypt and in the United States. It also delves into Lagnado’s own painful experiences growing up, first as the daughter of protective Egyptian parents trying to find her way in 1960s America, then as a critically ill teenager (she was diagnosed with Hodgkins lymphoma at 16 and spent the better part of a year undergoing radiation treatments), and, finally, as a young journalist making her way in the world.

Lagnado spoke to Vox Tablet host Sara Ivry about the high price of American assimilation, the difficulties of writing this book, and the ties that have bonded mothers and daughters in her family together across generations. [Running time: 25:16.]

]]>http://www.tabletmag.com/podcasts/77601/mothers-helper/feed3In her best-selling memoir, The Man in the White Sharkskin Suit, journalist Lucette Lagnado brought to life the multiethnic metropolis of Cairo in the 1940s and 1950s. Lagnado’s father, Leon, a debonair man-about-town, thrived in that cosmopolitan world, and young Lucette basked in his glow. But Egypt’s 1952 revolution changed all that. The family held on for a time, finally immigrating to the United States in 1962, and Lagnado’s book—winner of the 2008 Sami Rohr Prize for Jewish Literature—arrestingly described her father’s steady decline.
Now she has written a second memoir, The Arrogant Years: One Girl’s Search for Her Lost Youth, that offers a loving and often devastating portrait of her mother and all that she sacrificed to keep her family intact, both in Egypt and in the United States. It also delves into Lagnado’s own painful experiences growing up, first as the daughter of protective Egyptian parents trying to find her way in 1960s America, then as a critically ill teenager (she was diagnosed with Hodgkins lymphoma at 16 and spent the better part of a year undergoing radiation treatments), and, finally, as a young journalist making her way in the world.
Lagnado spoke to Vox Tablet host Sara Ivry about the high price of American assimilation, the difficulties of writing this book, and the ties that have bonded mothers and daughters in her family together across generations. [Running time: 25:16.]
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<p>In her best-selling memoir, The Man in the White Sharkskin Suit, journalist Lucette Lagnado brought to life the multiethnic metropolis of Cairo in the 1940s and 1950s. Lagnado’s father, Leon, a debonair man-about-town, thrived in that [...]In the Picturehttp://www.tabletmag.com/podcasts/76022/in-the-picture
http://www.tabletmag.com/podcasts/76022/in-the-picture#commentsMon, 29 Aug 2011 11:00:03 +0000http://www.tabletmag.com/?p=76022Bruce Jay Friedman has been writing across genres and media for more than half a century. Literary types remember Stern, his 1962 breakout book, referred to by one critic as “the first Freudian novel.” Movie buffs know him as the screenwriter of blockbusters like Splash and Stir Crazy. The film The Heartbreak Kid was based […]

]]>Bruce Jay Friedman has been writing across genres and media for more than half a century. Literary types remember Stern, his 1962 breakout book, referred to by one critic as “the first Freudian novel.” Movie buffs know him as the screenwriter of blockbusters like Splash and Stir Crazy. The film The Heartbreak Kid was based on his short story “A Change of Plan.” And then there were his several plays, including the popular 1970 Steambath.

Now Friedman has written Lucky Bruce, a memoir that takes readers from his Depression-era childhood in the Bronx to his time in Hollywood, with stops along the way at Elaine’s and other literati hangouts. He recalls his long friendships with Mario Puzo and Joseph Heller and recounts amusing run-ins with Norman Mailer, Natalie Wood, Warren Beatty, and many others, all with his famous dark humor. His passion for writing, and admiration for those who do it well, is ever present. (You can read an excerpt from Lucky Brucehere.)

]]>http://www.tabletmag.com/podcasts/76022/in-the-picture/feed1Bruce Jay Friedman has been writing across genres and media for more than half a century. Literary types remember Stern, his 1962 breakout book, referred to by one critic as “the first Freudian novel.” Movie buffs know him as the screenwriter of blockbusters like Splash and Stir Crazy. The film The Heartbreak Kid was based on his short story “A Change of Plan.” And then there were his several plays, including the popular 1970 Steambath.
Now Friedman has written Lucky Bruce, a memoir that takes readers from his Depression-era childhood in the Bronx to his time in Hollywood, with stops along the way at Elaine’s and other literati hangouts. He recalls his long friendships with Mario Puzo and Joseph Heller and recounts amusing run-ins with Norman Mailer, Natalie Wood, Warren Beatty, and many others, all with his famous dark humor. His passion for writing, and admiration for those who do it well, is ever present. (You can read an excerpt from Lucky Bruce here.)
Tablet Magazine’s Ellen Umansky spoke to Friedman—or BJF, as he’s known to many—about his storied career. [Running time: 21:46.]
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<p>Bruce Jay Friedman has been writing across genres and media for more than half a century. Literary types remember Stern, his 1962 breakout book, referred to by one critic as “the first Freudian novel.” Movie buffs know him as the [...]Agent Provocateurhttp://www.tabletmag.com/podcasts/75404/agent-provocateur-3
http://www.tabletmag.com/podcasts/75404/agent-provocateur-3#commentsMon, 22 Aug 2011 11:00:53 +0000http://www.tabletmag.com/?p=75404Serge Gainsbourg was, depending on whom you ask, a brilliant songwriter, a buffoon, an outrage, a Don Juan, or the definition of French cool. To French comic book artist Joann Sfar, growing up in a strait-laced observant family in the 1970s, Gainsbourg—born Lucien Ginsberg in 1928—was a hero. Sfar was enthralled by Gainsbourg’s outrageous antics […]

]]>Serge Gainsbourg was, depending on whom you ask, a brilliant songwriter, a buffoon, an outrage, a Don Juan, or the definition of French cool. To French comic book artist Joann Sfar, growing up in a strait-laced observant family in the 1970s, Gainsbourg—born Lucien Ginsberg in 1928—was a hero. Sfar was enthralled by Gainsbourg’s outrageous antics on French television, his unabashed romps with knockouts like Brigitte Bardot and Jane Birkin, and his reckless smoking and drinking, not to mention his talent as a singer and songwriter. All this from a skinny Jewish guy with protruding ears and a big nose.

Gainsbourg was a mostly washed-up artist when he died at 62 of a heart attack, in 1991. But that’s not what Sfar wishes to remember in his first feature film, Gainsbourg: A Heroic Life, which opens next week in the United States. Rather, Sfar revels in Gainsbourg’s crash-and-burn approach to life as an outsider, from his cavalier embrace of the yellow star in 1941 to his 1978 recording of a reggae remix of the French national anthem. The film takes creative license with Gainsbourg’s life, just as Gainsbourg was prone to do, and includes some of Sfar’s favorite things: puppets, caricature, Jewish themes, and sex.

Vox Tablet’s Sara Ivry spoke to Sfar about Gainsbourg’s life, his love-hate relationships with France and with Jews, and Sfar’s own provocations as an artist and filmmaker. [Running time: 19:07.]

]]>http://www.tabletmag.com/podcasts/75404/agent-provocateur-3/feed2Serge Gainsbourg was, depending on whom you ask, a brilliant songwriter, a buffoon, an outrage, a Don Juan, or the definition of French cool. To French comic book artist Joann Sfar, growing up in a strait-laced observant family in the 1970s, Gainsbourg—born Lucien Ginsberg in 1928—was a hero. Sfar was enthralled by Gainsbourg’s outrageous antics on French television, his unabashed romps with knockouts like Brigitte Bardot and Jane Birkin, and his reckless smoking and drinking, not to mention his talent as a singer and songwriter. All this from a skinny Jewish guy with protruding ears and a big nose.
Gainsbourg was a mostly washed-up artist when he died at 62 of a heart attack, in 1991. But that’s not what Sfar wishes to remember in his first feature film, Gainsbourg: A Heroic Life, which opens next week in the United States. Rather, Sfar revels in Gainsbourg’s crash-and-burn approach to life as an outsider, from his cavalier embrace of the yellow star in 1941 to his 1978 recording of a reggae remix of the French national anthem. The film takes creative license with Gainsbourg’s life, just as Gainsbourg was prone to do, and includes some of Sfar’s favorite things: puppets, caricature, Jewish themes, and sex.
Vox Tablet’s Sara Ivry spoke to Sfar about Gainsbourg’s life, his love-hate relationships with France and with Jews, and Sfar’s own provocations as an artist and filmmaker. [Running time: 19:07.]
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<p>Serge Gainsbourg was, depending on whom you ask, a brilliant songwriter, a buffoon, an outrage, a Don Juan, or the definition of French cool. To French comic book artist Joann Sfar, growing up in a strait-laced observant family in the [...]After Shockhttp://www.tabletmag.com/podcasts/74335/after-shock
http://www.tabletmag.com/podcasts/74335/after-shock#commentsMon, 08 Aug 2011 11:00:30 +0000http://www.tabletmag.com/?p=74335Ever since his service in the Yom Kippur War in 1973, Israeli Yuval Neria has been interested in the impact of extreme trauma on mental health. He became an expert on post-traumatic stress disorder and was recruited to Columbia University’s department of clinical psychology shortly after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks. Since then, he has […]

]]>Ever since his service in the Yom Kippur War in 1973, Israeli Yuval Neria has been interested in the impact of extreme trauma on mental health. He became an expert on post-traumatic stress disorder and was recruited to Columbia University’s department of clinical psychology shortly after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks. Since then, he has been working with and studying those most directly affected by the events in New York City: friends and family of those who were killed in the World Trade Center, and the first responders who worked in the wreckage.

On the eve of Tisha B’Av, the day of mourning that commemorates the destruction of the first and second Temples and other catastrophic events in Jewish history, Vox Tablet host Sara Ivry spoke to Neria about his own wartime experiences and what his research has taught him about treating trauma. Neria was awarded a Medal of Valor for his service, and in 1986 he published the novel Esh, Hebrew for “fire,” a fictionalized account of his time in combat. He and Ivry discussed the psychological benefits and risks of revisiting traumatic events year after year, as Jews do with the ritual reading of the Book of Lamentations. [Running time: 20:00.]

]]>http://www.tabletmag.com/podcasts/74335/after-shock/feed2Ever since his service in the Yom Kippur War in 1973, Israeli Yuval Neria has been interested in the impact of extreme trauma on mental health. He became an expert on post-traumatic stress disorder and was recruited to Columbia University’s department of clinical psychology shortly after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks. Since then, he has been working with and studying those most directly affected by the events in New York City: friends and family of those who were killed in the World Trade Center, and the first responders who worked in the wreckage.
On the eve of Tisha B’Av, the day of mourning that commemorates the destruction of the first and second Temples and other catastrophic events in Jewish history, Vox Tablet host Sara Ivry spoke to Neria about his own wartime experiences and what his research has taught him about treating trauma. Neria was awarded a Medal of Valor for his service, and in 1986 he published the novel Esh, Hebrew for “fire,” a fictionalized account of his time in combat. He and Ivry discussed the psychological benefits and risks of revisiting traumatic events year after year, as Jews do with the ritual reading of the Book of Lamentations. [Running time: 20:00.]
Your browser does not support the audio element.
<p>Ever since his service in the Yom Kippur War in 1973, Israeli Yuval Neria has been interested in the impact of extreme trauma on mental health. He became an expert on post-traumatic stress disorder and was recruited to Columbia [...]Unhealthy Obsessionhttp://www.tabletmag.com/podcasts/73693/unhealthy-obsession
Mon, 01 Aug 2011 11:00:47 +0000http://www.tabletmag.com/?p=73693In an old joke, a Frenchman, a German, and a Jew walk into a bar. “I’m tired and thirsty,” says the Frenchman. “I must have wine.” “I’m tired and thirsty,” says the German. “I must have some beer.” “I’m tired and thirsty,” says the Jew. “I must have diabetes.” Hypochondria is a staple of Jewish […]

]]>In an old joke, a Frenchman, a German, and a Jew walk into a bar. “I’m tired and thirsty,” says the Frenchman. “I must have wine.” “I’m tired and thirsty,” says the German. “I must have some beer.” “I’m tired and thirsty,” says the Jew. “I must have diabetes.”

Hypochondria is a staple of Jewish humor, but the neurotic disorder is by no means the exclusive domain of Jews, nor is it necessarily funny. Those who suffer from it are consumed by anxiety over the imagined progression of illness in their bodies and obsessively take note of symptoms real or imagined. It disrupts work and family life. And it taxes the healthcare system, as hypochondriacs seek second, third, fourth, and fifth opinions and demand test after test.

This week Vox Tablet presents the radio documentary “Living With Hypochondria: The Real Costs of Imagined Illness,” written and produced by Karen Brown and first aired on WFCR in New England. It takes an in-depth look at the disorder, from the perspective of those who suffer from it to clinicians studying its impact on individuals, families, and society. [Running time: 28:01.]

]]>In an old joke, a Frenchman, a German, and a Jew walk into a bar. “I’m tired and thirsty,” says the Frenchman. “I must have wine.” “I’m tired and thirsty,” says the German. “I must have some beer.” “I’m tired and thirsty,” says the Jew. “I must have diabetes.”
Hypochondria is a staple of Jewish humor, but the neurotic disorder is by no means the exclusive domain of Jews, nor is it necessarily funny. Those who suffer from it are consumed by anxiety over the imagined progression of illness in their bodies and obsessively take note of symptoms real or imagined. It disrupts work and family life. And it taxes the healthcare system, as hypochondriacs seek second, third, fourth, and fifth opinions and demand test after test.
This week Vox Tablet presents the radio documentary “Living With Hypochondria: The Real Costs of Imagined Illness,” written and produced by Karen Brown and first aired on WFCR in New England. It takes an in-depth look at the disorder, from the perspective of those who suffer from it to clinicians studying its impact on individuals, families, and society. [Running time: 28:01.]
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<p>In an old joke, a Frenchman, a German, and a Jew walk into a bar. “I’m tired and thirsty,” says the Frenchman. “I must have wine.” “I’m tired and thirsty,” says the German. “I must have some beer.” “I’m tired and [...]In Good Companyhttp://www.tabletmag.com/podcasts/72671/in-good-company
http://www.tabletmag.com/podcasts/72671/in-good-company#commentsMon, 25 Jul 2011 11:00:45 +0000http://www.tabletmag.com/?p=72671When performer and memoirist Janice Erlbaum was a young teenager, she had a crush on a boy from school. He invited her to his bar mitzvah, an event that was also to be attended by the gaggle of girls who had recently turned on Janice, publicly declaring her a misfit. Janice was thrilled to be […]

]]>When performer and memoirist Janice Erlbaum was a young teenager, she had a crush on a boy from school. He invited her to his bar mitzvah, an event that was also to be attended by the gaggle of girls who had recently turned on Janice, publicly declaring her a misfit. Janice was thrilled to be there, but as the afternoon unfolded, her allegiance to the boy was to be pitted against her desire to gain re-entry to the in crowd. She tells the story of what happened on that fateful day.

Janice Erlbaum is the author of Girlbomb and Have You Found Her. You can find more of her stories here. [Running time:10:20.]

]]>http://www.tabletmag.com/podcasts/72671/in-good-company/feed3When performer and memoirist Janice Erlbaum was a young teenager, she had a crush on a boy from school. He invited her to his bar mitzvah, an event that was also to be attended by the gaggle of girls who had recently turned on Janice, publicly declaring her a misfit. Janice was thrilled to be there, but as the afternoon unfolded, her allegiance to the boy was to be pitted against her desire to gain re-entry to the in crowd. She tells the story of what happened on that fateful day.
Janice Erlbaum is the author of Girlbomb and Have You Found Her. You can find more of her stories here. [Running time:10:20.]
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<p>When performer and memoirist Janice Erlbaum was a young teenager, she had a crush on a boy from school. He invited her to his bar mitzvah, an event that was also to be attended by the gaggle of girls who had recently turned on Janice, [...]Family Jewelshttp://www.tabletmag.com/podcasts/70771/family-jewels
http://www.tabletmag.com/podcasts/70771/family-jewels#commentsMon, 18 Jul 2011 11:00:13 +0000http://www.tabletmag.com/?p=70771For most women, diamonds prompt reveries of fairytale engagements, or at least daydreams of Marilyn Monroe. For journalist Alicia Oltuski, they connote family. Her paternal grandfather was a diamond dealer; he once traded a single stone for condensed milk, marmalade, and honey when he was a displaced person in Germany just after World War II. […]

]]>For most women, diamonds prompt reveries of fairytale engagements, or at least daydreams of Marilyn Monroe. For journalist Alicia Oltuski, they connote family. Her paternal grandfather was a diamond dealer; he once traded a single stone for condensed milk, marmalade, and honey when he was a displaced person in Germany just after World War II. Oltuski’s father also dealt in gems—buying and selling antique jewelry on West 47th Street, the heart of New York City’s diamond district. In her new book, Precious Objects: A Story of Diamonds, Family, and a Way of Life, Oltuski examines the jewelry trade and some of the characters who work in it. She joined Vox Tablet host Sara Ivry to discuss Jewish predominance in the diamond business, her family’s relationship with the industry, and how the gems now represent polar positions—romance and conflict—in popular culture. [Running time: 18:26.]

]]>http://www.tabletmag.com/podcasts/70771/family-jewels/feed3For most women, diamonds prompt reveries of fairytale engagements, or at least daydreams of Marilyn Monroe. For journalist Alicia Oltuski, they connote family. Her paternal grandfather was a diamond dealer; he once traded a single stone for condensed milk, marmalade, and honey when he was a displaced person in Germany just after World War II. Oltuski’s father also dealt in gems—buying and selling antique jewelry on West 47th Street, the heart of New York City’s diamond district. In her new book, Precious Objects: A Story of Diamonds, Family, and a Way of Life, Oltuski examines the jewelry trade and some of the characters who work in it. She joined Vox Tablet host Sara Ivry to discuss Jewish predominance in the diamond business, her family’s relationship with the industry, and how the gems now represent polar positions—romance and conflict—in popular culture. [Running time: 18:26.]
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<p>For most women, diamonds prompt reveries of fairytale engagements, or at least daydreams of Marilyn Monroe. For journalist Alicia Oltuski, they connote family. Her paternal grandfather was a diamond dealer; he once traded a single stone [...]Jerusalem Posthttp://www.tabletmag.com/podcasts/71345/jerusalem-post
http://www.tabletmag.com/podcasts/71345/jerusalem-post#commentsMon, 11 Jul 2011 11:00:56 +0000http://www.tabletmag.com/?p=71345The inaugural class of fellows at the American Academy in Jerusalem was announced last month by the Foundation for Jewish Culture, which will host the four selected American artists while they develop new work in the dynamically, culturally rich city. The project is the brainchild of Elise Bernhardt, the foundation’s president, who modeled it on […]

]]>The inaugural class of fellows at the American Academy in Jerusalem was announced last month by the Foundation for Jewish Culture, which will host the four selected American artists while they develop new work in the dynamically, culturally rich city. The project is the brainchild of Elise Bernhardt, the foundation’s president, who modeled it on the American Academies in Rome and Berlin (each is a separate entity, with no formal ties). The American Academy in Jerusalem, a nine-week residency, also aims to strengthen ties between artists and cultural institutions in the United States and Israel.

Vox Tablet host Sara Ivry talked about the program with Bernhardt, discussing how the fellows were selected and whether Jerusalem can compete with European cities as a cultural capital. Ivry also spoke to the four fellows, who are headed to Jerusalem in October: urban planner David Karnovsky, visual artist Lynne Avadenka, theater director David Herskovits, and choreographer Donald Byrd. [Running time: 20:43.]

]]>http://www.tabletmag.com/podcasts/71345/jerusalem-post/feed3The inaugural class of fellows at the American Academy in Jerusalem was announced last month by the Foundation for Jewish Culture, which will host the four selected American artists while they develop new work in the dynamically, culturally rich city. The project is the brainchild of Elise Bernhardt, the foundation’s president, who modeled it on the American Academies in Rome and Berlin (each is a separate entity, with no formal ties). The American Academy in Jerusalem, a nine-week residency, also aims to strengthen ties between artists and cultural institutions in the United States and Israel.
Vox Tablet host Sara Ivry talked about the program with Bernhardt, discussing how the fellows were selected and whether Jerusalem can compete with European cities as a cultural capital. Ivry also spoke to the four fellows, who are headed to Jerusalem in October: urban planner David Karnovsky, visual artist Lynne Avadenka, theater director David Herskovits, and choreographer Donald Byrd. [Running time: 20:43.]
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<p>The inaugural class of fellows at the American Academy in Jerusalem was announced last month by the Foundation for Jewish Culture, which will host the four selected American artists while they develop new work in the dynamically, [...]Birth Righthttp://www.tabletmag.com/podcasts/70052/birth-right-2
http://www.tabletmag.com/podcasts/70052/birth-right-2#commentsMon, 20 Jun 2011 11:00:35 +0000http://www.tabletmag.com/?p=70052Oxford doctoral candidate Rebecca Steinfeld argues in Tablet Magazine today that granting Yigal Amir, the assassin of Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin, the right to conjugal visits and by extension the right to father a child is consistent with the state’s pro-natalist policies. Steinfeld is writing a dissertation on the topic, War of the Wombs: The […]

]]>Oxford doctoral candidate Rebecca Steinfeld argues in Tablet Magazine today that granting Yigal Amir, the assassin of Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin, the right to conjugal visits and by extension the right to father a child is consistent with the state’s pro-natalist policies. Steinfeld is writing a dissertation on the topic, War of the Wombs: The History and Politics of Fertility Policies in Israel, 1948-2010. She spoke to Vox Tablet host Sara Ivry about the evolution of these policies, from cash “birth prizes” awarded to mothers on the birth of their 10th child in the early days of the state to today’s heavily subsidized fertility procedures for women who wish to conceive, and about accusations that these policies have favored Jewish citizens over others. [Running time: 17:29.]

]]>http://www.tabletmag.com/podcasts/70052/birth-right-2/feed9Oxford doctoral candidate Rebecca Steinfeld argues in Tablet Magazine today that granting Yigal Amir, the assassin of Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin, the right to conjugal visits and by extension the right to father a child is consistent with the state’s pro-natalist policies. Steinfeld is writing a dissertation on the topic, War of the Wombs: The History and Politics of Fertility Policies in Israel, 1948-2010. She spoke to Vox Tablet host Sara Ivry about the evolution of these policies, from cash “birth prizes” awarded to mothers on the birth of their 10th child in the early days of the state to today’s heavily subsidized fertility procedures for women who wish to conceive, and about accusations that these policies have favored Jewish citizens over others. [Running time: 17:29.]
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<p>Oxford doctoral candidate Rebecca Steinfeld argues in Tablet Magazine today that granting Yigal Amir, the assassin of Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin, the right to conjugal visits and by extension the right to father a child is consistent [...]Block Partyhttp://www.tabletmag.com/podcasts/69640/block-party
http://www.tabletmag.com/podcasts/69640/block-party#commentsMon, 13 Jun 2011 11:00:27 +0000http://www.tabletmag.com/?p=69640Tablet Magazine recently moved its offices to a stretch of West 28th Street in Manhattan. The new digs are in an auspicious location—the block that was once Tin Pan Alley, the historic district where George Gershwin and Irving Berlin and many others went to play piano and peddle songs to music publishers. As the 20th […]

]]>Tablet Magazine recently moved its offices to a stretch of West 28th Street in Manhattan. The new digs are in an auspicious location—the block that was once Tin Pan Alley, the historic district where George Gershwin and Irving Berlin and many others went to play piano and peddle songs to music publishers.

As the 20th century reached its midpoint, tunesmiths moved elsewhere. (The Brill Building, famously home to later generations of songwriters, is just north of Times Square.) Old buildings came down while new ones went up, and our portion of West 28th is now a bustling commercial hodge-podge bookended by the flower district to the west and the perfume district to the east. To learn more about our new neighborhood—where Emma Goldman founded her anarchist magazine, too, and Zero Mostel had a painting studio—Vox Tablet host Sara Ivry spoke to Jim Mackin, a New York City historian and tour guide, about West 28th Street, how specialized commercial districts come into being, and Irving Berlin’s first big hit. [Running time: 16:17.]

]]>http://www.tabletmag.com/podcasts/69640/block-party/feed5Tablet Magazine recently moved its offices to a stretch of West 28th Street in Manhattan. The new digs are in an auspicious location—the block that was once Tin Pan Alley, the historic district where George Gershwin and Irving Berlin and many others went to play piano and peddle songs to music publishers.
As the 20th century reached its midpoint, tunesmiths moved elsewhere. (The Brill Building, famously home to later generations of songwriters, is just north of Times Square.) Old buildings came down while new ones went up, and our portion of West 28th is now a bustling commercial hodge-podge bookended by the flower district to the west and the perfume district to the east. To learn more about our new neighborhood—where Emma Goldman founded her anarchist magazine, too, and Zero Mostel had a painting studio—Vox Tablet host Sara Ivry spoke to Jim Mackin, a New York City historian and tour guide, about West 28th Street, how specialized commercial districts come into being, and Irving Berlin’s first big hit. [Running time: 16:17.]
Your browser does not support the audio element.
<p>Tablet Magazine recently moved its offices to a stretch of West 28th Street in Manhattan. The new digs are in an auspicious location—the block that was once Tin Pan Alley, the historic district where George Gershwin and Irving Berlin and [...]All Night Long: Preparing for Shavuot’s Study Sessionshttp://www.tabletmag.com/podcasts/68853/all-night-long
http://www.tabletmag.com/podcasts/68853/all-night-long#commentsMon, 06 Jun 2011 11:00:25 +0000http://www.tabletmag.com/?p=68853The holiday of Shavuot brings with it unique forms of observance. In addition to the consumption of dairy-rich delicacies, many people participate in a tikkun layl Shavuot, an all-night study session. During a tikkun, it’s traditional to peruse and discuss a portion from the Bible, the Talmud, or the Mishneh. To mark Shavuot this year, […]

]]>The holiday of Shavuot brings with it unique forms of observance. In addition to the consumption of dairy-rich delicacies, many people participate in a tikkun layl Shavuot, an all-night study session. During a tikkun, it’s traditional to peruse and discuss a portion from the Bible, the Talmud, or the Mishneh. To mark Shavuot this year, Vox Tablet host Sara Ivry asked novelist Nathan Englander, musician Alicia Jo Rabins, Rabbi Phil Lieberman, and theologian Avivah Zornberg what text they’d most like to think about in the early-morning hours, and what makes those hours particularly well-suited to explorations of the mind and spirit. [Running time: 11:40]

]]>http://www.tabletmag.com/podcasts/68853/all-night-long/feed2The holiday of Shavuot brings with it unique forms of observance. In addition to the consumption of dairy-rich delicacies, many people participate in a tikkun layl Shavuot, an all-night study session. During a tikkun, it’s traditional to peruse and discuss a portion from the Bible, the Talmud, or the Mishneh. To mark Shavuot this year, Vox Tablet host Sara Ivry asked novelist Nathan Englander, musician Alicia Jo Rabins, Rabbi Phil Lieberman, and theologian Avivah Zornberg what text they’d most like to think about in the early-morning hours, and what makes those hours particularly well-suited to explorations of the mind and spirit. [Running time: 11:40]
Your browser does not support the audio element.
<p>The holiday of Shavuot brings with it unique forms of observance. In addition to the consumption of dairy-rich delicacies, many people participate in a tikkun layl Shavuot, an all-night study session. During a tikkun, it’s traditional to [...]Into the Firehttp://www.tabletmag.com/podcasts/67734/into-the-fire
http://www.tabletmag.com/podcasts/67734/into-the-fire#commentsMon, 23 May 2011 11:00:48 +0000http://www.tabletmag.com/?p=67734In the early 1900s, Puerto Barrios, in Guatemala, was on the cusp of becoming a thriving Caribbean port town. It was the bustling terminus for trains hauling produce for the United Fruit Company. From there, bananas were shipped north to the port of New Orleans and, thereafter, to destinations all over the United States. By […]

]]>In the early 1900s, Puerto Barrios, in Guatemala, was on the cusp of becoming a thriving Caribbean port town. It was the bustling terminus for trains hauling produce for the United Fruit Company. From there, bananas were shipped north to the port of New Orleans and, thereafter, to destinations all over the United States.

By the late 1930s, things had changed dramatically. Puerto Barrios’ indigenous charms had been all but eradicated, replaced by filth and destitution. It was inhabited mostly by Afro-Guatemalans and West Indians who worked on the docks for pitiful wages; those with means were advised to get out of town as fast as they could.

It is here that we meet Samuel Berkow, the well-to-do German Jewish bachelor at the center of The Price of Escape, a new novel by David Unger. Berkow arrives in Guatemala from Hamburg, where the Nazi noose had begun to tighten around him. Berkow expects his arrival to mark the beginning of a new and exciting life. Instead, in just three days, Puerto Barrios—with its demons, drunks, and thugs—nearly finishes him off.

Unger, a Guatemala-born, Brooklyn-based writer, speaks with Vox Tablet host Sara Ivry about the relationship of Samuel Berkow’s history to his own, about the appeal of creating only semi-sympathetic protagonists, and about why most of his relatives refuse to read his work. [Running time: 15:16].

]]>http://www.tabletmag.com/podcasts/67734/into-the-fire/feed4In the early 1900s, Puerto Barrios, in Guatemala, was on the cusp of becoming a thriving Caribbean port town. It was the bustling terminus for trains hauling produce for the United Fruit Company. From there, bananas were shipped north to the port of New Orleans and, thereafter, to destinations all over the United States.
By the late 1930s, things had changed dramatically. Puerto Barrios’ indigenous charms had been all but eradicated, replaced by filth and destitution. It was inhabited mostly by Afro-Guatemalans and West Indians who worked on the docks for pitiful wages; those with means were advised to get out of town as fast as they could.
It is here that we meet Samuel Berkow, the well-to-do German Jewish bachelor at the center of The Price of Escape, a new novel by David Unger. Berkow arrives in Guatemala from Hamburg, where the Nazi noose had begun to tighten around him. Berkow expects his arrival to mark the beginning of a new and exciting life. Instead, in just three days, Puerto Barrios—with its demons, drunks, and thugs—nearly finishes him off.
Unger, a Guatemala-born, Brooklyn-based writer, speaks with Vox Tablet host Sara Ivry about the relationship of Samuel Berkow’s history to his own, about the appeal of creating only semi-sympathetic protagonists, and about why most of his relatives refuse to read his work. [Running time: 15:16].
Your browser does not support the audio element.
<p>In the early 1900s, Puerto Barrios, in Guatemala, was on the cusp of becoming a thriving Caribbean port town. It was the bustling terminus for trains hauling produce for the United Fruit Company. From there, bananas were shipped north to [...]Sluggerhttp://www.tabletmag.com/podcasts/67402/slugger
http://www.tabletmag.com/podcasts/67402/slugger#commentsMon, 16 May 2011 11:00:32 +0000http://www.tabletmag.com/?p=67402If you ask a kid to name a Jewish baseball hero it’s likely she’ll answer Kevin Youkilis if she’s thinking current day icons, or, if this theoretical kid is more historically oriented she’ll cite the great Dodger Sandy Koufax. But long before either of them put on a glove, there was Hank Greenberg. Greenberg made […]

]]>If you ask a kid to name a Jewish baseball hero it’s likely she’ll answer Kevin Youkilis if she’s thinking current day icons, or, if this theoretical kid is more historically oriented she’ll cite the great Dodger Sandy Koufax. But long before either of them put on a glove, there was Hank Greenberg.

Greenberg made his major league mark in the 1930s and ’40s, playing primarily for the Detroit Tigers. He was a first-baseman and a phenomenal batter. In 1938, in a single season, he hit 58 home runs. He made the All Star team five times, was twice named American League MVP, was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1956, and still holds the American League record for runs batted in by a right-handed batter in a single season: 183 in 1937. Over this entire career, he had a whopping 1,276 RBIs.

Like Koufax, Greenberg sat out a game that fell on Yom Kippur; in Greenberg’s case it was during the 1934 pennant race. It sealed his fate as Jewish hero in an era that was virulently anti-Semitic at home and abroad. Greenberg accepted this role graciously but with some discomfort. Writer Mark Kurlansky has a new biography out about the star. It’s called Hank Greenberg: The Hero Who Didn’t Want to Be One. Kurlansky speaks with Vox Tablet host Sara Ivry about Greenberg’s improbable status as a Jewish icon (he was far from observant), the challenges he faced as arguably the highest profile Jewish sportsman in the mid-1930s, and why he is not better remembered by baseball fans today. [Running time: 15:41.]

]]>http://www.tabletmag.com/podcasts/67402/slugger/feed15If you ask a kid to name a Jewish baseball hero it’s likely she’ll answer Kevin Youkilis if she’s thinking current day icons, or, if this theoretical kid is more historically oriented she’ll cite the great Dodger Sandy Koufax. But long before either of them put on a glove, there was Hank Greenberg.
Greenberg made his major league mark in the 1930s and ’40s, playing primarily for the Detroit Tigers. He was a first-baseman and a phenomenal batter. In 1938, in a single season, he hit 58 home runs. He made the All Star team five times, was twice named American League MVP, was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1956, and still holds the American League record for runs batted in by a right-handed batter in a single season: 183 in 1937. Over this entire career, he had a whopping 1,276 RBIs.
Like Koufax, Greenberg sat out a game that fell on Yom Kippur; in Greenberg’s case it was during the 1934 pennant race. It sealed his fate as Jewish hero in an era that was virulently anti-Semitic at home and abroad. Greenberg accepted this role graciously but with some discomfort. Writer Mark Kurlansky has a new biography out about the star. It’s called Hank Greenberg: The Hero Who Didn’t Want to Be One. Kurlansky speaks with Vox Tablet host Sara Ivry about Greenberg’s improbable status as a Jewish icon (he was far from observant), the challenges he faced as arguably the highest profile Jewish sportsman in the mid-1930s, and why he is not better remembered by baseball fans today. [Running time: 15:41.]
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<p>If you ask a kid to name a Jewish baseball hero it’s likely she’ll answer Kevin Youkilis if she’s thinking current day icons, or, if this theoretical kid is more historically oriented she’ll cite the great Dodger Sandy Koufax. But [...]Walter and Edithhttp://www.tabletmag.com/podcasts/66580/walter-and-edith
http://www.tabletmag.com/podcasts/66580/walter-and-edith#commentsMon, 09 May 2011 11:00:09 +0000http://www.tabletmag.com/?p=66580Death—always around us—seemed especially present in recent days. The killing of Osama Bin Laden revived memories of his 9/11 victims, while Yom HaShoah brought to mind those who perished in the Holocaust. Yet every day, private acts of mourning take place—people grieve over the loss of a loved one, a friend, a neighbor. In the […]

]]>Death—always around us—seemed especially present in recent days. The killing of Osama Bin Laden revived memories of his 9/11 victims, while Yom HaShoah brought to mind those who perished in the Holocaust. Yet every day, private acts of mourning take place—people grieve over the loss of a loved one, a friend, a neighbor. In the short story “Walter and Edith,” Miami-based writer Jeremy Glazer offers a more intimate glimpse into the experience of personal loss. His story comes to Vox Tablet by way of Alicia Zuckerman, a senior producer of the radio show Under the Sun at WLRN in Miami. [Running time: 9:32.]

]]>http://www.tabletmag.com/podcasts/66580/walter-and-edith/feed3Death—always around us—seemed especially present in recent days. The killing of Osama Bin Laden revived memories of his 9/11 victims, while Yom HaShoah brought to mind those who perished in the Holocaust. Yet every day, private acts of mourning take place—people grieve over the loss of a loved one, a friend, a neighbor. In the short story “Walter and Edith,” Miami-based writer Jeremy Glazer offers a more intimate glimpse into the experience of personal loss. His story comes to Vox Tablet by way of Alicia Zuckerman, a senior producer of the radio show Under the Sun at WLRN in Miami. [Running time: 9:32.]
Your browser does not support the audio element.
<p>Death—always around us—seemed especially present in recent days. The killing of Osama Bin Laden revived memories of his 9/11 victims, while Yom HaShoah brought to mind those who perished in the Holocaust. Yet every day, private acts of [...]Queen of Pophttp://www.tabletmag.com/podcasts/66172/queen-of-pop
http://www.tabletmag.com/podcasts/66172/queen-of-pop#commentsFri, 29 Apr 2011 11:00:20 +0000http://www.tabletmag.com/?p=66172In the late 1950s, Florence Greenberg was a housewife in Passaic, N.J., with an itch to get into the music business. A tip from her daughters led her to a quartet of young African-American singers. Under Greenberg’s tutelage, the women became the legendary Shirelles, the group behind such hits as “I Met Him on a […]

]]>In the late 1950s, Florence Greenberg was a housewife in Passaic, N.J., with an itch to get into the music business. A tip from her daughters led her to a quartet of young African-American singers. Under Greenberg’s tutelage, the women became the legendary Shirelles, the group behind such hits as “I Met Him on a Sunday” and “Dedicated to the One I Love.” Greenberg’s name in the business was made. She formed three record labels—Tiara, Scepter, and Wand—and had a hand in the successes of talents including Dionne Warwick and the Isley Brothers.

As the curtain rises on Baby It’s You, a new musical celebrating Greenberg’s life and work, Vox Tablet host Sara Ivry speaks with Slate Magazine music critic Jody Rosen about the obstacles Greenberg might have faced as a pioneering woman, about her ability to identify voices and styles that others didn’t think America was quite ready for, and about the real meaning of the song “Say a Little Prayer for You.” [Running time: 20:05.]

]]>http://www.tabletmag.com/podcasts/66172/queen-of-pop/feed6In the late 1950s, Florence Greenberg was a housewife in Passaic, N.J., with an itch to get into the music business. A tip from her daughters led her to a quartet of young African-American singers. Under Greenberg’s tutelage, the women became the legendary Shirelles, the group behind such hits as “I Met Him on a Sunday” and “Dedicated to the One I Love.” Greenberg’s name in the business was made. She formed three record labels—Tiara, Scepter, and Wand—and had a hand in the successes of talents including Dionne Warwick and the Isley Brothers.
As the curtain rises on Baby It’s You, a new musical celebrating Greenberg’s life and work, Vox Tablet host Sara Ivry speaks with Slate Magazine music critic Jody Rosen about the obstacles Greenberg might have faced as a pioneering woman, about her ability to identify voices and styles that others didn’t think America was quite ready for, and about the real meaning of the song “Say a Little Prayer for You.” [Running time: 20:05.]
Your browser does not support the audio element.
<p>In the late 1950s, Florence Greenberg was a housewife in Passaic, N.J., with an itch to get into the music business. A tip from her daughters led her to a quartet of young African-American singers. Under Greenberg’s tutelage, the women [...]Free Versehttp://www.tabletmag.com/podcasts/65337/free-verse
http://www.tabletmag.com/podcasts/65337/free-verse#commentsFri, 22 Apr 2011 11:00:23 +0000http://www.tabletmag.com/?p=65337The alleged cruelty of April is mitigated, for some people anyway, by the arrival of two things: Passover and National Poetry Month. To celebrate this collision of good fortune, Vox Tablet asked some poets to share works that engage the themes of the holiday. Andrea Cohen, author most recently of Kentucky Derby, Robert Pinsky, author […]

]]>The alleged cruelty of April is mitigated, for some people anyway, by the arrival of two things: Passover and National Poetry Month. To celebrate this collision of good fortune, Vox Tablet asked some poets to share works that engage the themes of the holiday. Andrea Cohen, author most recently of Kentucky Derby, Robert Pinsky, author of The Life of David from Nextbook Press and the newly published Selected Poems, and Mark Levine, whose most recent collection is The Wilds, share some poems and speak about them with Vox Tablet host Sara Ivry. [Running time: 16:22.]

Your browser does not support the audio element.

Exodus

The flat bread
that scratched

our throats
was not symbolic.

We left too quickly
to bring the symbols.

Neither did the bread
portend of manna.

It was bread.
We left

with the skin
on our backs,

with the imprint
of whips.

The symbols
came after,

finding us the way
a lost dog,

crossing deserts,
pinpoints the master

who can’t
live without him.

—Andrea Cohen

Macaroons

I get it now.
You’re dead.
You can’t do
everything
you used to.
Reruns instead
of new episodes.
I get it.
You can’t send
macaroons this Passover,
those dense confections
without flour, conforming
to the rules
of kashrut, the rules
of engagement, which
in the case of our people,
involved fleeing, trading
slavery for the desert.
The land of milk & honey
was a kind of paint-
by-numbers kit
everybody lugged
in his head through
sandy ditches. It’s
best not to commit
directions to Nirvana
to paper: they could be
stolen or confiscated, or
worse: the place itself
obliterated. Forty
years is a long time
to get where you’re going.
Where are you promised?
In the end you spoke
of a boat ride, of
booking passage second-
class, on a vessel that lacked
a rudder, an engine, a sail.
Kaput, you said.
You were looking
for a solution.
Why now? someone
asked—less question
than demand. You
had to go. I
get it. We prepped
you for a journey,
because the mind
gets stuck on the speed
bumps of Fin, of Finito.
The mind insists
on one more
road, one more hello.
I get it: you won’t
be posting macaroons
this year. No problem,
mom. Just send the recipe.

—Andrea Cohen

Paschal

Easter was the old North
Goddess of the dawn.
She rises daily in the East
And yearly in spring for the great
Paschal candle of the sun.

Her name lingers like a spot
Of gravy in the figured vestment
Of the language of the Britains
As Thor’s and crazed Woden’s
Stain Thursday and Wednesday.

O fellow-patriots loyal to this
Our modern world of high heels,
Vaccination, brain surgery:
May the old Apollonian flayers
And Jovial raptors pass over us—

Those ordainers of suppers
Of encrypted dishes: bitter, unrisen,
Infants as bricks for the taskmaster
Quota. Fruit and nuts ground
In wine to recall the mortar:

On the compass platter, traces
Of the species that devises
The Angel of Death to sail
Over our legible doorpost
Smeared with sacrifice.

—Robert Pinsky, from Gulf Music, (Farrar, Straus, & Giroux, 2007)

Refuge Event

was them in motion
beside the open cart on steel wheels
drawn by a tawny mule in the
modern day having bartered
for cart and animal in
motion beside orchards
bordering the receding town
receding crows on the roof and a boy watching
them above his shovel in his pose
animal poked with a stick
between lurid exhalations and
a finch flicking itself at
gnats in the air
in motion and the crate or cart
mounded with leathers
tools from the workshop
drill press/lathe/iron forms/dyer’s vat
them bartering in syllables
anonymously in August
in wool coats and hats in the
documentary evidence in stiff polished
boots laced high and
unbroken-in
spring rain
had rutted the road
with a gap in motion
in eventual summer
axle needed mending
bucket needed washing
with the wash and the boiling water
(good-bye mother with her bag of wash)
in a surge of details past
slumbering countryside
in a past tense
wing or cargo hold

]]>http://www.tabletmag.com/podcasts/65337/free-verse/feed3The alleged cruelty of April is mitigated, for some people anyway, by the arrival of two things: Passover and National Poetry Month. To celebrate this collision of good fortune, Vox Tablet asked some poets to share works that engage the themes of the holiday. Andrea Cohen, author most recently of Kentucky Derby, Robert Pinsky, author of The Life of David from Nextbook Press and the newly published Selected Poems, and Mark Levine, whose most recent collection is The Wilds, share some poems and speak about them with Vox Tablet host Sara Ivry. [Running time: 16:22.]
Your browser does not support the audio element.
Exodus
The flat bread
that scratched
our throats
was not symbolic.
We left too quickly
to bring the symbols.
Neither did the bread
portend of manna.
It was bread.
We left
with the skin
on our backs,
with the imprint
of whips.
The symbols
came after,
finding us the way
a lost dog,
crossing deserts,
pinpoints the master
who can’t
live without him.
—Andrea Cohen
Macaroons
I get it now.
You’re dead.
You can’t do
everything
you used to.
Reruns instead
of new episodes.
I get it.
You can’t send
macaroons this Passover,
those dense confections
without flour, conforming
to the rules
of kashrut, the rules
of engagement, which
in the case of our people,
involved fleeing, trading
slavery for the desert.
The land of milk & honey
was a kind of paint-
by-numbers kit
everybody lugged
in his head through
sandy ditches. It’s
best not to commit
directions to Nirvana
to paper: they could be
stolen or confiscated, or
worse: the place itself
obliterated. Forty
years is a long time
to get where you’re going.
Where are you promised?
In the end you spoke
of a boat ride, of
booking passage second-
class, on a vessel that lacked
a rudder, an engine, a sail.
Kaput, you said.
You were looking
for a solution.
Why now? someone
asked—less question
than demand. You
had to go. I
get it. We prepped
you for a journey,
because the mind
gets stuck on the speed
bumps of Fin, of Finito.
The mind insists
on one more
road, one more hello.
I get it: you won’t
be posting macaroons
this year. No problem,
mom. Just send the recipe.
—Andrea Cohen
Paschal
Easter was the old North
Goddess of the dawn.
She rises daily in the East
And yearly in spring for the great
Paschal candle of the sun.
Her name lingers like a spot
Of gravy in the figured vestment
Of the language of the Britains
As Thor’s and crazed Woden’s
Stain Thursday and Wednesday.
O fellow-patriots loyal to this
Our modern world of high heels,
Vaccination, brain surgery:
May the old Apollonian flayers
And Jovial raptors pass over us—
Those ordainers of suppers
Of encrypted dishes: bitter, unrisen,
Infants as bricks for the taskmaster
Quota. Fruit and nuts ground
In wine to recall the mortar:
On the compass platter, traces
Of the species that devises
The Angel of Death to sail
Over our legible doorpost
Smeared with sacrifice.
—Robert Pinsky, from Gulf Music, (Farrar, Straus, & Giroux, 2007)
Refuge Event
was them in motion
beside the open cart on steel wheels
drawn by a tawny mule in the
modern day having bartered
for cart and animal in
motion beside orchards
bordering the receding town
receding crows on the roof and a boy watching
them above his shovel in his pose
animal poked with a stick
between lurid exhalations and
a finch flicking itself at
gnats in the air
in motion and the crate or cart
mounded with leathers
tools from the workshop
drill press/lathe/iron forms/dyer’s vat
them bartering in syllables
anonymously in August
in wool coats and hats in the
documentary evidence in stiff polished
boots laced high and
unbroken-in
spring rain
had rutted the road
with a gap in motion
in eventual summer
axle needed mending
bucket needed washing
with the wash and the boiling water
(good-bye mother with her bag of wash)
in a surge of details past
slumbering countryside
in a past tense
wing or cargo hold
—Mark Levine, from The Wilds, (University of California Press, 2006)
<p>The alleged cruelty of April is mitigated, for some people anyway, by the arrival of two things: Passover and National Poetry Month. To celebrate this collision of good fortune, Vox Tablet asked some poets to share works that engage the [...]Against the Grainhttp://www.tabletmag.com/podcasts/65317/against-the-grain
http://www.tabletmag.com/podcasts/65317/against-the-grain#commentsFri, 15 Apr 2011 11:00:42 +0000http://www.tabletmag.com/?p=65317For those who adhere strictly to the laws of Passover, this is a busy time of year. Homes are purged of anything leavened, or anything that might become leavened. Out go the cereal, the crackers, and the flour. Just how strict we need to be when it comes to the presence of grain elsewhere in […]

]]>For those who adhere strictly to the laws of Passover, this is a busy time of year. Homes are purged of anything leavened, or anything that might become leavened. Out go the cereal, the crackers, and the flour. Just how strict we need to be when it comes to the presence of grain elsewhere in the food chain is a matter of some debate. In Israel, kosher certifiers insist that that for milk, eggs, and meat to be considered fit for the holiday, the cows and chickens from which they are derived must also be grain-free. Reporter Daniel Estrin went on a tour of a dairy farm outside Jerusalem to find just what this entails. [Running time: 6:20.]

]]>http://www.tabletmag.com/podcasts/65317/against-the-grain/feed7For those who adhere strictly to the laws of Passover, this is a busy time of year. Homes are purged of anything leavened, or anything that might become leavened. Out go the cereal, the crackers, and the flour. Just how strict we need to be when it comes to the presence of grain elsewhere in the food chain is a matter of some debate. In Israel, kosher certifiers insist that that for milk, eggs, and meat to be considered fit for the holiday, the cows and chickens from which they are derived must also be grain-free. Reporter Daniel Estrin went on a tour of a dairy farm outside Jerusalem to find just what this entails. [Running time: 6:20.]
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<p>For those who adhere strictly to the laws of Passover, this is a busy time of year. Homes are purged of anything leavened, or anything that might become leavened. Out go the cereal, the crackers, and the flour. Just how strict we need to [...]Up in the Attichttp://www.tabletmag.com/podcasts/64458/up-in-the-attic
http://www.tabletmag.com/podcasts/64458/up-in-the-attic#commentsWed, 13 Apr 2011 11:00:15 +0000http://www.tabletmag.com/?p=64458In the late 1800s, Solomon Schechter, the scholar and teacher whose name is familiar to scores of Jewish day-school students, discovered a remarkable trove of Jewish documents stuffed in an attic-like space in a Cairo synagogue. Ranging from liturgical texts to shipping orders, the documents were mostly written in Judeo-Arabic, Aramaic, and Yiddish and dated […]

]]>In the late 1800s, Solomon Schechter, the scholar and teacher whose name is familiar to scores of Jewish day-school students, discovered a remarkable trove of Jewish documents stuffed in an attic-like space in a Cairo synagogue. Ranging from liturgical texts to shipping orders, the documents were mostly written in Judeo-Arabic, Aramaic, and Yiddish and dated back to the Middle Ages. It was a geniza, a store room for documents containing the name of God and awaiting ritual burial. The Cairo Geniza, as the collection has become known, has since fueled decades of scholarship on centuries-old poets and theologians, as well as long-forgotten details of daily existence.

In Sacred Trash: The Lost and Found World of the Cairo Geniza, new from Nextbook Press, poet and translator Peter Cole and essayist Adina Hoffman recount the history of the Cairo Geniza and the scholars who dedicated their professional (and sometimes private) lives to its holdings. Cole and Hoffman spoke to Vox Tablet host Sara Ivry about how such a remarkable collection of documents came to exist, the many characters—from Schechter to a woman from the Middle Ages known as “Wuhsha the Broker”—associated with it, and what its contents reveal about historical celebrations of Passover. [Running time: 25:54.]

]]>http://www.tabletmag.com/podcasts/64458/up-in-the-attic/feed8In the late 1800s, Solomon Schechter, the scholar and teacher whose name is familiar to scores of Jewish day-school students, discovered a remarkable trove of Jewish documents stuffed in an attic-like space in a Cairo synagogue. Ranging from liturgical texts to shipping orders, the documents were mostly written in Judeo-Arabic, Aramaic, and Yiddish and dated back to the Middle Ages. It was a geniza, a store room for documents containing the name of God and awaiting ritual burial. The Cairo Geniza, as the collection has become known, has since fueled decades of scholarship on centuries-old poets and theologians, as well as long-forgotten details of daily existence.
In Sacred Trash: The Lost and Found World of the Cairo Geniza, new from Nextbook Press, poet and translator Peter Cole and essayist Adina Hoffman recount the history of the Cairo Geniza and the scholars who dedicated their professional (and sometimes private) lives to its holdings. Cole and Hoffman spoke to Vox Tablet host Sara Ivry about how such a remarkable collection of documents came to exist, the many characters—from Schechter to a woman from the Middle Ages known as “Wuhsha the Broker”—associated with it, and what its contents reveal about historical celebrations of Passover. [Running time: 25:54.]
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<p>In the late 1800s, Solomon Schechter, the scholar and teacher whose name is familiar to scores of Jewish day-school students, discovered a remarkable trove of Jewish documents stuffed in an attic-like space in a Cairo synagogue. Ranging [...]Purgatoriohttp://www.tabletmag.com/podcasts/63219/purgatorio
http://www.tabletmag.com/podcasts/63219/purgatorio#commentsMon, 04 Apr 2011 11:00:53 +0000http://www.tabletmag.com/?p=63219In the late 1970s, the Italian seaside town of Ladispoli, about an hour’s drive northwest of Rome, became a way station for Soviet Jewish refugees, many stuck there for months while they awaited visas to enter the United States or Canada. The writer David Bezmozgis, then a child, was among the Jews waiting in limbo […]

]]>In the late 1970s, the Italian seaside town of Ladispoli, about an hour’s drive northwest of Rome, became a way station for Soviet Jewish refugees, many stuck there for months while they awaited visas to enter the United States or Canada. The writer David Bezmozgis, then a child, was among the Jews waiting in limbo there, until his family eventually made it to Toronto, where he set his acclaimed first book, Natasha and Other Stories. For his debut novel, The Free World, Bezmozgis turned to Ladispoli, anchoring the book’s action there. It focuses on Samuil Krasnansky, a grumpy Communist who’s left the Soviet Union against his will; his son Alec, a happy-go-lucky lothario; and Alec’s wife, Polina, a non-Jewish Russian haunted by regret over leaving her aging parents. Bezmozgis spoke to Vox Tablet host Sara Ivry about his recollections of life in Ladispoli, the political differences that tore Jewish families apart in the early years of the Soviet Union, and the seamier side of immigrant life. [Running time: 13:38.]

]]>http://www.tabletmag.com/podcasts/63219/purgatorio/feed3In the late 1970s, the Italian seaside town of Ladispoli, about an hour’s drive northwest of Rome, became a way station for Soviet Jewish refugees, many stuck there for months while they awaited visas to enter the United States or Canada. The writer David Bezmozgis, then a child, was among the Jews waiting in limbo there, until his family eventually made it to Toronto, where he set his acclaimed first book, Natasha and Other Stories. For his debut novel, The Free World, Bezmozgis turned to Ladispoli, anchoring the book’s action there. It focuses on Samuil Krasnansky, a grumpy Communist who’s left the Soviet Union against his will; his son Alec, a happy-go-lucky lothario; and Alec’s wife, Polina, a non-Jewish Russian haunted by regret over leaving her aging parents. Bezmozgis spoke to Vox Tablet host Sara Ivry about his recollections of life in Ladispoli, the political differences that tore Jewish families apart in the early years of the Soviet Union, and the seamier side of immigrant life. [Running time: 13:38.]
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<p>In the late 1970s, the Italian seaside town of Ladispoli, about an hour’s drive northwest of Rome, became a way station for Soviet Jewish refugees, many stuck there for months while they awaited visas to enter the United States or [...]Deli Blueshttp://www.tabletmag.com/podcasts/62851/deli-blues
http://www.tabletmag.com/podcasts/62851/deli-blues#commentsWed, 30 Mar 2011 11:00:38 +0000http://www.tabletmag.com/?p=62851Half a century ago, the Hebrew Union Congregation in Greenville, Miss., was the state’s largest synagogue; its sanctuary overflowed during the High Holidays, attracting worshipers from the city and surrounding communities. But many children of those earlier congregants have moved away, and by 2000, the temple dismissed its full-time rabbi. One tradition, though, has held […]

]]>Half a century ago, the Hebrew Union Congregation in Greenville, Miss., was the state’s largest synagogue; its sanctuary overflowed during the High Holidays, attracting worshipers from the city and surrounding communities. But many children of those earlier congregants have moved away, and by 2000, the temple dismissed its full-time rabbi. One tradition, though, has held on: Hebrew Union’s annual deli luncheon, a fundraiser for the Temple Sisterhood and a much-anticipated event for both the Jews and non-Jews of Greenville. (In 2009, 1,400 corned beef sandwiches were served.) Reporter Philip Graitcer attended this year’s luncheon earlier this month and filed this dispatch from a tradition that might not endure. [Running time: 7:50.]

]]>http://www.tabletmag.com/podcasts/62851/deli-blues/feed19Half a century ago, the Hebrew Union Congregation in Greenville, Miss., was the state’s largest synagogue; its sanctuary overflowed during the High Holidays, attracting worshipers from the city and surrounding communities. But many children of those earlier congregants have moved away, and by 2000, the temple dismissed its full-time rabbi. One tradition, though, has held on: Hebrew Union’s annual deli luncheon, a fundraiser for the Temple Sisterhood and a much-anticipated event for both the Jews and non-Jews of Greenville. (In 2009, 1,400 corned beef sandwiches were served.) Reporter Philip Graitcer attended this year’s luncheon earlier this month and filed this dispatch from a tradition that might not endure. [Running time: 7:50.]
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<p>Half a century ago, the Hebrew Union Congregation in Greenville, Miss., was the state’s largest synagogue; its sanctuary overflowed during the High Holidays, attracting worshipers from the city and surrounding communities. But many [...]Crossing Overhttp://www.tabletmag.com/podcasts/61999/crossing-over
http://www.tabletmag.com/podcasts/61999/crossing-over#commentsMon, 21 Mar 2011 11:00:02 +0000http://www.tabletmag.com/?p=61999It can take someone outside your own background to make you realize how much your tradition has to offer. Such was the case for veteran journalist Steve Roberts. Now a professor, Roberts grew up Jewish but non-religious in Bayonne, New Jersey. It was only after he married his Catholic wife, Cokie Roberts, in 1966, that […]

]]>It can take someone outside your own background to make you realize how much your tradition has to offer. Such was the case for veteran journalist Steve Roberts. Now a professor, Roberts grew up Jewish but non-religious in Bayonne, New Jersey. It was only after he married his Catholic wife, Cokie Roberts, in 1966, that his family held their first seder, at her insistence. Steve and Cokie, a longtime National Public Radio correspondent, have been hosting Seders together since, and the haggadah they use is one they’ve compiled over more than four decades. It forms the basis of Our Haggadah: Uniting Traditions for Interfaith Families, which combines traditional Seder elements with references to contemporary history and the traditions of other faiths—most notably Christianity. Steve and Cokie Roberts spoke to Vox Tablet host Sara Ivry about their first Seder, why Passover is particularly well-suited to interfaith families, and their inclusive approach to celebrating it, which includes Christian references, Hebrew readings, and legumes. [Running time: 22:16.]

]]>http://www.tabletmag.com/podcasts/61999/crossing-over/feed27It can take someone outside your own background to make you realize how much your tradition has to offer. Such was the case for veteran journalist Steve Roberts. Now a professor, Roberts grew up Jewish but non-religious in Bayonne, New Jersey. It was only after he married his Catholic wife, Cokie Roberts, in 1966, that his family held their first seder, at her insistence. Steve and Cokie, a longtime National Public Radio correspondent, have been hosting Seders together since, and the haggadah they use is one they’ve compiled over more than four decades. It forms the basis of Our Haggadah: Uniting Traditions for Interfaith Families, which combines traditional Seder elements with references to contemporary history and the traditions of other faiths—most notably Christianity. Steve and Cokie Roberts spoke to Vox Tablet host Sara Ivry about their first Seder, why Passover is particularly well-suited to interfaith families, and their inclusive approach to celebrating it, which includes Christian references, Hebrew readings, and legumes. [Running time: 22:16.]
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<p>It can take someone outside your own background to make you realize how much your tradition has to offer. Such was the case for veteran journalist Steve Roberts. Now a professor, Roberts grew up Jewish but non-religious in Bayonne, New [...]The Trialhttp://www.tabletmag.com/podcasts/61337/the-trial
http://www.tabletmag.com/podcasts/61337/the-trial#commentsMon, 14 Mar 2011 11:00:48 +0000http://www.tabletmag.com/?p=61337When Adolf Eichmann, the notorious Nazi many hold responsible for the Final Solution, went on trial in Jerusalem 50 years ago, the proceedings riveted people around the world. Eichmann, who’d been captured by Israeli agents a year earlier in Argentina, was being prosecuted in a country whose existence was in part due to his crimes. […]

]]>When Adolf Eichmann, the notorious Nazi many hold responsible for the Final Solution, went on trial in Jerusalem 50 years ago, the proceedings riveted people around the world. Eichmann, who’d been captured by Israeli agents a year earlier in Argentina, was being prosecuted in a country whose existence was in part due to his crimes. The trial re-focused attention on one of the century’s greatest horrors and drew criticism for the prosecutor’s decision to have survivors testify about their traumas. Such testimony was seen by many as distracting from facts and playing on emotions; it would also force victims to relive the brutality they’d experienced in the Holocaust.

These and other issues form the basis of The Eichmann Trial, a new book by Emory University historian Deborah E. Lipstadt from Nextbook Press. Lipstadt is no stranger to the courtroom or to the perils of anti-Semitism. In 1996, she was sued by David Irving, who’d accused her of libeling him by calling him a Holocaust denier. Lipstadt won her case at trial in 2000. She joined Vox Tablet host Sara Ivry to talk about the importance of survivor testimony, about the controversy surrounding the 1961 trial, and about how her courtroom experience changed the way she thinks of Eichmann’s. [Running time: 21:26.]

]]>http://www.tabletmag.com/podcasts/61337/the-trial/feed6When Adolf Eichmann, the notorious Nazi many hold responsible for the Final Solution, went on trial in Jerusalem 50 years ago, the proceedings riveted people around the world. Eichmann, who’d been captured by Israeli agents a year earlier in Argentina, was being prosecuted in a country whose existence was in part due to his crimes. The trial re-focused attention on one of the century’s greatest horrors and drew criticism for the prosecutor’s decision to have survivors testify about their traumas. Such testimony was seen by many as distracting from facts and playing on emotions; it would also force victims to relive the brutality they’d experienced in the Holocaust.
These and other issues form the basis of The Eichmann Trial, a new book by Emory University historian Deborah E. Lipstadt from Nextbook Press. Lipstadt is no stranger to the courtroom or to the perils of anti-Semitism. In 1996, she was sued by David Irving, who’d accused her of libeling him by calling him a Holocaust denier. Lipstadt won her case at trial in 2000. She joined Vox Tablet host Sara Ivry to talk about the importance of survivor testimony, about the controversy surrounding the 1961 trial, and about how her courtroom experience changed the way she thinks of Eichmann’s. [Running time: 21:26.]
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<p>When Adolf Eichmann, the notorious Nazi many hold responsible for the Final Solution, went on trial in Jerusalem 50 years ago, the proceedings riveted people around the world. Eichmann, who’d been captured by Israeli agents a year [...]Word Mattershttp://www.tabletmag.com/podcasts/60554/word-matters
http://www.tabletmag.com/podcasts/60554/word-matters#commentsFri, 04 Mar 2011 12:00:28 +0000http://www.tabletmag.com/?p=60554When John Galliano was fired earlier this week as the chief designer for Christian Dior because of his stunning anti-Semitic outburst, some saw the start of a trend. Charlie Sheen had taunted the creator of his CBS sitcom, Two and a Half Men, Chuck Lorre, by calling him Chaim Levine. And Julian Assange, of Wikileaks, […]

]]>When John Galliano was fired earlier this week as the chief designer for Christian Dior because of his stunning anti-Semitic outburst, some saw the start of a trend. Charlie Sheen had taunted the creator of his CBS sitcom, Two and a Half Men, Chuck Lorre, by calling him Chaim Levine. And Julian Assange, of Wikileaks, allegedly accused a group of journalists of being part of a Jewish conspiracy to smear his organization.

]]>http://www.tabletmag.com/podcasts/60554/word-matters/feed5When John Galliano was fired earlier this week as the chief designer for Christian Dior because of his stunning anti-Semitic outburst, some saw the start of a trend. Charlie Sheen had taunted the creator of his CBS sitcom, Two and a Half Men, Chuck Lorre, by calling him Chaim Levine. And Julian Assange, of Wikileaks, allegedly accused a group of journalists of being part of a Jewish conspiracy to smear his organization.
But does it matter if a celebrity gets drunk and utters something offensive? Might it be counterproductive to call attention to every stupid remark? Vox Tablet host Sara Ivry asked Anti-Defamation League chief Abraham Foxman, Atlantic national correspondent and blogger Jeffrey Goldberg, New York magazine cultural critic Emily Nussbaum, and public-relations guru Matthew Hiltzik. [Running time: 16:05.]
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<p>When John Galliano was fired earlier this week as the chief designer for Christian Dior because of his stunning anti-Semitic outburst, some saw the start of a trend. Charlie Sheen had taunted the creator of his CBS sitcom, Two and a Half [...]Faraway, So Closehttp://www.tabletmag.com/podcasts/59770/faraway-so-close
http://www.tabletmag.com/podcasts/59770/faraway-so-close#commentsMon, 28 Feb 2011 12:00:28 +0000http://www.tabletmag.com/?p=59770Yael Ben-Zion came to the United States from the small town of Arad, in southern Israel, to study law. A decade later, she’s a New York City-based photographer who trains her lens on the place she left behind. In 5683 Miles Away, her recently published collection of photographs—the title is the distance from John F. […]

]]>Yael Ben-Zion came to the United States from the small town of Arad, in southern Israel, to study law. A decade later, she’s a New York City-based photographer who trains her lens on the place she left behind. In 5683 Miles Away, her recently published collection of photographs—the title is the distance from John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York to Ben-Gurion Airport in Tel Aviv—Ben-Zion depicts ordinary moments in family and friends’ lives in ways that convey affection but also ambivalence toward her subjects. In one, a mother is lifting a child up into the air, a classic image of maternal affection, while the child’s camouflage onesie reminds us that warfare is never far away in Israel. Other visual clues echo that sense of constant, if peripheral, anxiety, from the emergency-notification system atop a beachside pavilion to the barbed wire that circles the trunk of an old tree. Named a best book of 2010 by Photo-Eye Magazine, 5683 Miles Away was a selected title for the 2011 German Photo Book Award. The photos from the book will be on exhibit from March 2 to May 5 at 92Y’s Weill Art Gallery in Manhattan. Ben-Zion spoke to Vox Tablet host Sara Ivry about her project. [Running time: 12:14.]

]]>http://www.tabletmag.com/podcasts/59770/faraway-so-close/feed7Yael Ben-Zion came to the United States from the small town of Arad, in southern Israel, to study law. A decade later, she’s a New York City-based photographer who trains her lens on the place she left behind. In 5683 Miles Away, her recently published collection of photographs—the title is the distance from John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York to Ben-Gurion Airport in Tel Aviv—Ben-Zion depicts ordinary moments in family and friends’ lives in ways that convey affection but also ambivalence toward her subjects. In one, a mother is lifting a child up into the air, a classic image of maternal affection, while the child’s camouflage onesie reminds us that warfare is never far away in Israel. Other visual clues echo that sense of constant, if peripheral, anxiety, from the emergency-notification system atop a beachside pavilion to the barbed wire that circles the trunk of an old tree. Named a best book of 2010 by Photo-Eye Magazine, 5683 Miles Away was a selected title for the 2011 German Photo Book Award. The photos from the book will be on exhibit from March 2 to May 5 at 92Y’s Weill Art Gallery in Manhattan. Ben-Zion spoke to Vox Tablet host Sara Ivry about her project. [Running time: 12:14.]
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<p>Yael Ben-Zion came to the United States from the small town of Arad, in southern Israel, to study law. A decade later, she’s a New York City-based photographer who trains her lens on the place she left behind. In 5683 Miles Away, her [...]Half Lifehttp://www.tabletmag.com/podcasts/59183/half-life
http://www.tabletmag.com/podcasts/59183/half-life#commentsTue, 22 Feb 2011 12:00:14 +0000http://www.tabletmag.com/?p=59183When the Soviet Union fell and the Cold War was declared over, most people happily forgot that tens of thousands of nuclear warheads were still poised to go off at a moment’s notice. Ron Rosenbaum is less complacent; he has become obsessed with the persistence of the threat of a nuclear attack, whether purposeful or […]

]]>When the Soviet Union fell and the Cold War was declared over, most people happily forgot that tens of thousands of nuclear warheads were still poised to go off at a moment’s notice. Ron Rosenbaum is less complacent; he has become obsessed with the persistence of the threat of a nuclear attack, whether purposeful or accidental. (Nine countries have roughly 20,000 nuclear warheads, according to the Brookings Institution, and that figure accounts only for those weapons of which there is a record.) It’s a likelihood that is growing as unstable regimes race to acquire warheads of their own, he argues in his new book, How the End Begins: the Road to a Nuclear World War III, in which he examines the extent of this threat and looks for ways to resolve it. He spoke to Vox Tablet’s Sara Ivry about the obsolescence of deterrence in our geopolitically unstable world, the close calls in the history of the nuclear age, and the prospect of realizing President Barack Obama’s goal of eliminating nuclear weapons. [Running time: 16:55.]

]]>http://www.tabletmag.com/podcasts/59183/half-life/feed2When the Soviet Union fell and the Cold War was declared over, most people happily forgot that tens of thousands of nuclear warheads were still poised to go off at a moment’s notice. Ron Rosenbaum is less complacent; he has become obsessed with the persistence of the threat of a nuclear attack, whether purposeful or accidental. (Nine countries have roughly 20,000 nuclear warheads, according to the Brookings Institution, and that figure accounts only for those weapons of which there is a record.) It’s a likelihood that is growing as unstable regimes race to acquire warheads of their own, he argues in his new book, How the End Begins: the Road to a Nuclear World War III, in which he examines the extent of this threat and looks for ways to resolve it. He spoke to Vox Tablet’s Sara Ivry about the obsolescence of deterrence in our geopolitically unstable world, the close calls in the history of the nuclear age, and the prospect of realizing President Barack Obama’s goal of eliminating nuclear weapons. [Running time: 16:55.]
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Read an except from How the End Begins here.
<p>When the Soviet Union fell and the Cold War was declared over, most people happily forgot that tens of thousands of nuclear warheads were still poised to go off at a moment’s notice. Ron Rosenbaum is less complacent; he has become [...]Civil War Sirenhttp://www.tabletmag.com/podcasts/57900/civil-war-siren
http://www.tabletmag.com/podcasts/57900/civil-war-siren#commentsMon, 14 Feb 2011 12:00:51 +0000http://www.tabletmag.com/?p=57900Adah Isaacs Menken was known for her beauty, her daring, and her ability to flout just about every convention of her day. Her most famous role was as the warrior prince Mazeppa in a play inspired by Lord Byron’s poem. As Mazeppa, Menken was strapped to the side of a galloping horse while wearing nothing but […]

]]>Adah Isaacs Menken was known for her beauty, her daring, and her ability to flout just about every convention of her day. Her most famous role was as the warrior prince Mazeppa in a play inspired by Lord Byron’s poem. As Mazeppa, Menken was strapped to the side of a galloping horse while wearing nothing but a body stocking, which earned her the nickname “The Naked Lady.”

Menken lived only 33 years, but in that time she had five husbands and a string of lovers, including the writer Alexandre Dumas and the poet Algernon Swinburne. She gambled, posed semi-nude, and made headlines across the country. And, as Michael and Barbara Foster reveal in their new biography, A Dangerous Woman: The Life, Loves, and Scandals of Adah Isaacs Menken, 1835-1868, America’s Original Superstar, she was also a committed Jew and frequently published poems and essays defending her people.

The Fosters join Vox Tablet host Sara Ivry to speak about Adah Isaacs Menken’s political allegiances, her public liaisons, and her ethnic pride. [Running time: 17:14.]

]]>http://www.tabletmag.com/podcasts/57900/civil-war-siren/feed5Adah Isaacs Menken was known for her beauty, her daring, and her ability to flout just about every convention of her day. Her most famous role was as the warrior prince Mazeppa in a play inspired by Lord Byron’s poem. As Mazeppa, Menken was strapped to the side of a galloping horse while wearing nothing but a body stocking, which earned her the nickname “The Naked Lady.”
Menken lived only 33 years, but in that time she had five husbands and a string of lovers, including the writer Alexandre Dumas and the poet Algernon Swinburne. She gambled, posed semi-nude, and made headlines across the country. And, as Michael and Barbara Foster reveal in their new biography, A Dangerous Woman: The Life, Loves, and Scandals of Adah Isaacs Menken, 1835-1868, America’s Original Superstar, she was also a committed Jew and frequently published poems and essays defending her people.
The Fosters join Vox Tablet host Sara Ivry to speak about Adah Isaacs Menken’s political allegiances, her public liaisons, and her ethnic pride. [Running time: 17:14.]
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<p>Adah Isaacs Menken was known for her beauty, her daring, and her ability to flout just about every convention of her day. Her most famous role was as the warrior prince Mazeppa in a play inspired by Lord Byron’s poem. As Mazeppa, Menken [...]Divine Comedyhttp://www.tabletmag.com/podcasts/57688/divine-comedy
http://www.tabletmag.com/podcasts/57688/divine-comedy#commentsWed, 02 Feb 2011 12:00:23 +0000http://www.tabletmag.com/?p=57688Like so many celebrated moments in show business, Lenny Bruce’s midnight concert at Carnegie Hall—held 50 years ago this weekend, it was an uninterrupted two-hour monologue on everything from the newly inaugurated president Kennedy to female anatomy—nearly didn’t happen. With New York blanketed under nearly three feet of snow, the comedian, young and relatively new […]

]]>Like so many celebrated moments in show business, Lenny Bruce’s midnight concert at Carnegie Hall—held 50 years ago this weekend, it was an uninterrupted two-hour monologue on everything from the newly inaugurated president Kennedy to female anatomy—nearly didn’t happen. With New York blanketed under nearly three feet of snow, the comedian, young and relatively new to the scene, didn’t expect to find many people in the audience. But the house was packed, a testament to Bruce’s reputation as a sharp and controversial entertainer. And he left the stage a legend. But where does Bruce, with his long and associative ruminations, fit in America’s comedy cannon? And why doesn’t he have any disciples today? Tablet Magazine’s Liel Leibovitz says it’s because Bruce was always a prophet, not an entertainer. [Running time: 8:45.]

]]>http://www.tabletmag.com/podcasts/57688/divine-comedy/feed13Like so many celebrated moments in show business, Lenny Bruce’s midnight concert at Carnegie Hall—held 50 years ago this weekend, it was an uninterrupted two-hour monologue on everything from the newly inaugurated president Kennedy to female anatomy—nearly didn’t happen. With New York blanketed under nearly three feet of snow, the comedian, young and relatively new to the scene, didn’t expect to find many people in the audience. But the house was packed, a testament to Bruce’s reputation as a sharp and controversial entertainer. And he left the stage a legend. But where does Bruce, with his long and associative ruminations, fit in America’s comedy cannon? And why doesn’t he have any disciples today? Tablet Magazine’s Liel Leibovitz says it’s because Bruce was always a prophet, not an entertainer. [Running time: 8:45.]
Your browser does not support the audio element.
<p>Like so many celebrated moments in show business, Lenny Bruce’s midnight concert at Carnegie Hall—held 50 years ago this weekend, it was an uninterrupted two-hour monologue on everything from the newly inaugurated president Kennedy to [...]yesNo More Fearhttp://www.tabletmag.com/podcasts/57088/no-more-fear
http://www.tabletmag.com/podcasts/57088/no-more-fear#commentsThu, 27 Jan 2011 12:00:48 +0000http://www.tabletmag.com/?p=57088Malgorzata Lubinska, a 50-something Warsaw resident, always knew there was “something strange about our family,” she says. When she was in her 30s, she learned what that something was: Her family had been Jewish. After World War II, violence toward Jews and discrimination were facts of life in Poland; those who chose to stay were, […]

]]>Malgorzata Lubinska, a 50-something Warsaw resident, always knew there was “something strange about our family,” she says. When she was in her 30s, she learned what that something was: Her family had been Jewish. After World War II, violence toward Jews and discrimination were facts of life in Poland; those who chose to stay were, almost by definition, those who were prepared to leave their Jewishness behind, as did Lubinska’s family. But as things have changed, a new generation that includes Malgorzata is exploring the faith and culture their parents took pains to conceal. Lubinska spoke to Natalie Kestecher for the Australian radio documentary “My Fear of Poland,” produced for ABC Radio National’s 360documentaries, in which Kestecher traces her family’s Polish heritage and explores the country’s Jewish renaissance. Vox Tablet presents Lubinska’s story, and you can find the entire broadcast here. [Running time: 8:41.]

]]>http://www.tabletmag.com/podcasts/57088/no-more-fear/feed13Malgorzata Lubinska, a 50-something Warsaw resident, always knew there was “something strange about our family,” she says. When she was in her 30s, she learned what that something was: Her family had been Jewish. After World War II, violence toward Jews and discrimination were facts of life in Poland; those who chose to stay were, almost by definition, those who were prepared to leave their Jewishness behind, as did Lubinska’s family. But as things have changed, a new generation that includes Malgorzata is exploring the faith and culture their parents took pains to conceal. Lubinska spoke to Natalie Kestecher for the Australian radio documentary “My Fear of Poland,” produced for ABC Radio National’s 360documentaries, in which Kestecher traces her family’s Polish heritage and explores the country’s Jewish renaissance. Vox Tablet presents Lubinska’s story, and you can find the entire broadcast here. [Running time: 8:41.]
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<p>Malgorzata Lubinska, a 50-something Warsaw resident, always knew there was “something strange about our family,” she says. When she was in her 30s, she learned what that something was: Her family had been Jewish. After World War II, [...]Back to Bachhttp://www.tabletmag.com/podcasts/56602/back-to-bach
http://www.tabletmag.com/podcasts/56602/back-to-bach#commentsMon, 24 Jan 2011 12:00:09 +0000http://www.tabletmag.com/?p=56602Simone Dinnerstein was living the relatively obscure life of a freelance classical pianist until 2007, when the Telarc label released her recording of Johann Sebastian Bach’s Goldberg Variations. Her intense and original interpretation reached the top of the Billboard Classical Chart within a week of its release, and it was included in many best-classical-album lists […]

]]>Simone Dinnerstein was living the relatively obscure life of a freelance classical pianist until 2007, when the Telarc label released her recording of Johann Sebastian Bach’s Goldberg Variations. Her intense and original interpretation reached the top of the Billboard Classical Chart within a week of its release, and it was included in many best-classical-album lists from that year. The Brooklyn-based musician has been in high demand ever since.

Now Dinnerstein is releasing a new album, titled Bach: A Strange Beauty, on Sony Classical. The recording includes both solo and orchestral works, plus cover art by her father, renowned painter Simon Dinnerstein. Vox Tablet’s Sara Ivry visited Dinnerstein to talk about her journey to classical music stardom—from her art-centric childhood to her encounters with the Goldberg Variations while pregnant. [Running time: 18:27.]

]]>http://www.tabletmag.com/podcasts/56602/back-to-bach/feed8Simone Dinnerstein was living the relatively obscure life of a freelance classical pianist until 2007, when the Telarc label released her recording of Johann Sebastian Bach’s Goldberg Variations. Her intense and original interpretation reached the top of the Billboard Classical Chart within a week of its release, and it was included in many best-classical-album lists from that year. The Brooklyn-based musician has been in high demand ever since.
Now Dinnerstein is releasing a new album, titled Bach: A Strange Beauty, on Sony Classical. The recording includes both solo and orchestral works, plus cover art by her father, renowned painter Simon Dinnerstein. Vox Tablet’s Sara Ivry visited Dinnerstein to talk about her journey to classical music stardom—from her art-centric childhood to her encounters with the Goldberg Variations while pregnant. [Running time: 18:27.]
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<p>Simone Dinnerstein was living the relatively obscure life of a freelance classical pianist until 2007, when the Telarc label released her recording of Johann Sebastian Bach’s Goldberg Variations. Her intense and original interpretation [...]Eastern Exposurehttp://www.tabletmag.com/podcasts/55888/eastern-exposure-2
http://www.tabletmag.com/podcasts/55888/eastern-exposure-2#commentsMon, 17 Jan 2011 12:00:23 +0000http://www.tabletmag.com/?p=55888Georgii Zelma, Semyon Fridlyand, and Evgenii Khaldei aren’t among the best-known 20th-century Jewish photographers—those would be men like Roman Vishniac and Robert Capa—but their work is equally important. They’re some of the Soviet Jewish photographers who documented life on the far side of the Iron Curtain, shooting haunting images of Soviet industrialization, of the creation […]

]]>Georgii Zelma, Semyon Fridlyand, and Evgenii Khaldei aren’t among the best-known 20th-century Jewish photographers—those would be men like Roman Vishniac and Robert Capa—but their work is equally important. They’re some of the Soviet Jewish photographers who documented life on the far side of the Iron Curtain, shooting haunting images of Soviet industrialization, of the creation of the Birobidzhan, the Jewish autonomous region established by the late 1920s, and of the Holocaust. Historian Shneer examines their work, and that of other Soviet Jewish photographers, in his new book, Through Soviet Jewish Eyes: Photography, War, and the Holocaust. Shneer, who directs the Jewish studies program at the University of Colorado, spoke to Vox Tablet host Sara Ivry about this new view on early-20th century European history and how it reshapes our perception of Jewish life then. [Running time: 26:55.]

]]>http://www.tabletmag.com/podcasts/55888/eastern-exposure-2/feed7Georgii Zelma, Semyon Fridlyand, and Evgenii Khaldei aren’t among the best-known 20th-century Jewish photographers—those would be men like Roman Vishniac and Robert Capa—but their work is equally important. They’re some of the Soviet Jewish photographers who documented life on the far side of the Iron Curtain, shooting haunting images of Soviet industrialization, of the creation of the Birobidzhan, the Jewish autonomous region established by the late 1920s, and of the Holocaust. Historian Shneer examines their work, and that of other Soviet Jewish photographers, in his new book, Through Soviet Jewish Eyes: Photography, War, and the Holocaust. Shneer, who directs the Jewish studies program at the University of Colorado, spoke to Vox Tablet host Sara Ivry about this new view on early-20th century European history and how it reshapes our perception of Jewish life then. [Running time: 26:55.]
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<p>Georgii Zelma, Semyon Fridlyand, and Evgenii Khaldei aren’t among the best-known 20th-century Jewish photographers—those would be men like Roman Vishniac and Robert Capa—but their work is equally important. They’re some of the [...]Mathletic Prowesshttp://www.tabletmag.com/podcasts/55258/mathletic-analysis
http://www.tabletmag.com/podcasts/55258/mathletic-analysis#commentsFri, 07 Jan 2011 12:00:25 +0000http://www.tabletmag.com/?p=55258The NFL playoffs are upon us. Over the next three weekends, 12 teams will vie for the opportunity to represent their conference on February 6 at Cowboys Stadium, outside Dallas, in the Super Bowl. On Vox Tablet, staff writer (and indefatigable Redskins fan) Marc Tracy talks to Aaron Schatz, the founder and editor of the […]

]]>The NFL playoffs are upon us. Over the next three weekends, 12 teams will vie for the opportunity to represent their conference on February 6 at Cowboys Stadium, outside Dallas, in the Super Bowl. On Vox Tablet, staff writer (and indefatigable Redskins fan) Marc Tracy talks to Aaron Schatz, the founder and editor of the website Football Outsiders, which looks at the game through the prism of seemingly quirky but rigidly logical statistics. Tracy and Schatz discuss the method behind the stats—which have frequently proved better predictors of team success than the TV-sports pundits —as well as which teams the numbers favor this year, and they determine what stake Jewish fans have in the contests over the next month. (Fortunately, the stats and the Jews appear to be in alignment this year.) [Running time: 17:40.]

]]>http://www.tabletmag.com/podcasts/55258/mathletic-analysis/feed9The NFL playoffs are upon us. Over the next three weekends, 12 teams will vie for the opportunity to represent their conference on February 6 at Cowboys Stadium, outside Dallas, in the Super Bowl. On Vox Tablet, staff writer (and indefatigable Redskins fan) Marc Tracy talks to Aaron Schatz, the founder and editor of the website Football Outsiders, which looks at the game through the prism of seemingly quirky but rigidly logical statistics. Tracy and Schatz discuss the method behind the stats—which have frequently proved better predictors of team success than the TV-sports pundits —as well as which teams the numbers favor this year, and they determine what stake Jewish fans have in the contests over the next month. (Fortunately, the stats and the Jews appear to be in alignment this year.) [Running time: 17:40.]
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<p>The NFL playoffs are upon us. Over the next three weekends, 12 teams will vie for the opportunity to represent their conference on February 6 at Cowboys Stadium, outside Dallas, in the Super Bowl. On Vox Tablet, staff writer (and [...]Monumental Embracehttp://www.tabletmag.com/podcasts/54507/monumental-embrace-2
http://www.tabletmag.com/podcasts/54507/monumental-embrace-2#commentsMon, 27 Dec 2010 12:00:59 +0000http://www.tabletmag.com/?p=54507Holocaust memorials seem destined to seed controversy, particularly in Berlin. When the city’s first Holocaust memorial—2,711 stone blocks designed by Peter Eisenman—opened in 2005, it provoked a barrage of criticism. Some disliked Eisenman’s abstract concept. Others objected to its location after it was discovered that the bunker where Joseph Goebbels had committed suicide was on […]

]]>Holocaust memorials seem destined to seed controversy, particularly in Berlin. When the city’s first Holocaust memorial—2,711 stone blocks designed by Peter Eisenman—opened in 2005, it provoked a barrage of criticism. Some disliked Eisenman’s abstract concept. Others objected to its location after it was discovered that the bunker where Joseph Goebbels had committed suicide was on the site. And many were horrified to learn that the anti-graffiti coating applied to the memorial was manufactured by a subsidiary of the company that produced Zyklon B, the poison used in concentration-camp gas chambers.

Now a monument directly across the street from the Holocaust memorial has sparked an entirely different conflict. Erected in 2008, it is a memorial to gay victims of the Nazi regime. Echoing the design of Eisenman’s Holocaust memorial, it consists a single cement column, which holds a video monitor playing a continuously looping film of two men kissing. The video has prompted outrage, but not from the parties one might expect. Daniel Estrin reported for Vox Tablet from Berlin. [Running time: 12:00.]

]]>http://www.tabletmag.com/podcasts/54507/monumental-embrace-2/feed14Holocaust memorials seem destined to seed controversy, particularly in Berlin. When the city’s first Holocaust memorial—2,711 stone blocks designed by Peter Eisenman—opened in 2005, it provoked a barrage of criticism. Some disliked Eisenman’s abstract concept. Others objected to its location after it was discovered that the bunker where Joseph Goebbels had committed suicide was on the site. And many were horrified to learn that the anti-graffiti coating applied to the memorial was manufactured by a subsidiary of the company that produced Zyklon B, the poison used in concentration-camp gas chambers.
Now a monument directly across the street from the Holocaust memorial has sparked an entirely different conflict. Erected in 2008, it is a memorial to gay victims of the Nazi regime. Echoing the design of Eisenman’s Holocaust memorial, it consists a single cement column, which holds a video monitor playing a continuously looping film of two men kissing. The video has prompted outrage, but not from the parties one might expect. Daniel Estrin reported for Vox Tablet from Berlin. [Running time: 12:00.]
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<p>Holocaust memorials seem destined to seed controversy, particularly in Berlin. When the city’s first Holocaust memorial—2,711 stone blocks designed by Peter Eisenman—opened in 2005, it provoked a barrage of criticism. Some disliked [...]yes‘Blade II’ and Fried Ricehttp://www.tabletmag.com/podcasts/53673/%e2%80%98blade-ii%e2%80%99-and-fried-rice
http://www.tabletmag.com/podcasts/53673/%e2%80%98blade-ii%e2%80%99-and-fried-rice#commentsMon, 20 Dec 2010 12:00:26 +0000http://www.tabletmag.com/?p=53673Writer and performer Janice Erlbaum had agreed to work the Christmas Eve shift at the homeless shelter for teens where she was a volunteer. She’d figured she’d celebrate with the girls the way she would at home: with a few video rentals and some takeout Chinese. This plan was met with pleasure on the part […]

]]>Writer and performer Janice Erlbaum had agreed to work the Christmas Eve shift at the homeless shelter for teens where she was a volunteer. She’d figured she’d celebrate with the girls the way she would at home: with a few video rentals and some takeout Chinese. This plan was met with pleasure on the part of some, but suspicion on the part of others, who wanted answers to a few tough questions before placing their order. Here’s her story, from our archive. (You can listen to another one of our favorite Janice stories here.) [Running time: 6:53.]

]]>http://www.tabletmag.com/podcasts/53673/%e2%80%98blade-ii%e2%80%99-and-fried-rice/feed2Writer and performer Janice Erlbaum had agreed to work the Christmas Eve shift at the homeless shelter for teens where she was a volunteer. She’d figured she’d celebrate with the girls the way she would at home: with a few video rentals and some takeout Chinese. This plan was met with pleasure on the part of some, but suspicion on the part of others, who wanted answers to a few tough questions before placing their order. Here’s her story, from our archive. (You can listen to another one of our favorite Janice stories here.) [Running time: 6:53.]
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<p>Writer and performer Janice Erlbaum had agreed to work the Christmas Eve shift at the homeless shelter for teens where she was a volunteer. She’d figured she’d celebrate with the girls the way she would at home: with a few video [...]yesTop Tenhttp://www.tabletmag.com/podcasts/52119/top-ten-2
http://www.tabletmag.com/podcasts/52119/top-ten-2#commentsMon, 06 Dec 2010 12:00:18 +0000http://www.tabletmag.com/?p=52119It’s the time of year when top-10 lists abound. They’re nothing new—in fact, if you consider the well-known injunctions not to kill or steal that are part of the Decalogue, you’ll see top-10 lists have been around for millennia. But though old, the Ten Commandments are hardly out of date. So argues journalist David Hazony […]

In conversation with Vox Tablet host Sara Ivry, Hazony warns against dismissing these ancient pronouncements as simple or obvious. Rather, he says, they are worthy of study, and of being followed—even the one about not coveting our neighbor’s ox. [Running time: 20:26.]

]]>http://www.tabletmag.com/podcasts/52119/top-ten-2/feed10It’s the time of year when top-10 lists abound. They’re nothing new—in fact, if you consider the well-known injunctions not to kill or steal that are part of the Decalogue, you’ll see top-10 lists have been around for millennia. But though old, the Ten Commandments are hardly out of date. So argues journalist David Hazony in his new book The Ten Commandments: How Our Most Ancient Moral Text Can Renew Modern Life.
In conversation with Vox Tablet host Sara Ivry, Hazony warns against dismissing these ancient pronouncements as simple or obvious. Rather, he says, they are worthy of study, and of being followed—even the one about not coveting our neighbor’s ox. [Running time: 20:26.]
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<p>It’s the time of year when top-10 lists abound. They’re nothing new—in fact, if you consider the well-known injunctions not to kill or steal that are part of the Decalogue, you’ll see top-10 lists have been around for millennia. [...]Another Wayhttp://www.tabletmag.com/podcasts/51210/another-way
http://www.tabletmag.com/podcasts/51210/another-way#commentsMon, 29 Nov 2010 12:00:37 +0000http://www.tabletmag.com/?p=51210Marc Weidenbaum, the founder of Disquiet, a blog about sound art and electronic and ambient music, is an expert in the art of the remix: taking a piece of already recorded music and reworking it into something both reminiscent of the original and also entirely new. For Hanukkah, he picked eight songs—some, like “Maoz Tzur,” […]

]]>Marc Weidenbaum, the founder of Disquiet, a blog about sound art and electronic and ambient music, is an expert in the art of the remix: taking a piece of already recorded music and reworking it into something both reminiscent of the original and also entirely new. For Hanukkah, he picked eight songs—some, like “Maoz Tzur,” holiday favorites, others, like “Die Goldene Chasene,” familiar from Jewish celebrations—which he then handed off to innovative producers around the world to reinvent. The result is a hypnotic album that invokes everything from children’s music to klezmer to trance. It’s called Anander Mol, Anander Veig (Another Time, Another Way) and it’s downloadable—along with liner notes and cover art—here.

Vox Tablet host Sara Ivry spoke to Weidenbaum about some of the album’s tracks, about making remixes, and about how he, a non-musician, got into the remixing business in the first place. [Running time: 14:15.]

Listen to the interview:

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Weidenbaum also commissioned remixes of the Vox Tablet theme song, originally composed by Jewlia Eisenberg and performed by Red Pocket. You can listen to several versions here:

]]>http://www.tabletmag.com/podcasts/51210/another-way/feed9Marc Weidenbaum, the founder of Disquiet, a blog about sound art and electronic and ambient music, is an expert in the art of the remix: taking a piece of already recorded music and reworking it into something both reminiscent of the original and also entirely new. For Hanukkah, he picked eight songs—some, like “Maoz Tzur,” holiday favorites, others, like “Die Goldene Chasene,” familiar from Jewish celebrations—which he then handed off to innovative producers around the world to reinvent. The result is a hypnotic album that invokes everything from children’s music to klezmer to trance. It’s called Anander Mol, Anander Veig (Another Time, Another Way) and it’s downloadable—along with liner notes and cover art—here.
Vox Tablet host Sara Ivry spoke to Weidenbaum about some of the album’s tracks, about making remixes, and about how he, a non-musician, got into the remixing business in the first place. [Running time: 14:15.]
Listen to the interview:
Your browser does not support the audio element.
Weidenbaum also commissioned remixes of the Vox Tablet theme song, originally composed by Jewlia Eisenberg and performed by Red Pocket. You can listen to several versions here:
Remix by Paula Daunt:
Your browser does not support the audio element.
Remix by Mystified (aka Thomas Park):
Your browser does not support the audio element.
Remix by Cedar AV:
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<p>Marc Weidenbaum, the founder of Disquiet, a blog about sound art and electronic and ambient music, is an expert in the art of the remix: taking a piece of already recorded music and reworking it into something both reminiscent of the [...]Sephardic Soundshttp://www.tabletmag.com/podcasts/50693/sephardic-sounds
http://www.tabletmag.com/podcasts/50693/sephardic-sounds#commentsMon, 22 Nov 2010 12:00:33 +0000http://www.tabletmag.com/?p=50693Erez Safar, a producer and DJ who performs under the name Diwon, is enchanted by music and sounds from the Sephardic world. Six years ago, he founded the annual Sephardic Music Festival, which takes place in New York City over Hanukkah and features artists who meld Sephardic motifs with hip-hop, house music, electronica, and pretty […]

]]>Erez Safar, a producer and DJ who performs under the name Diwon, is enchanted by music and sounds from the Sephardic world. Six years ago, he founded the annual Sephardic Music Festival, which takes place in New York City over Hanukkah and features artists who meld Sephardic motifs with hip-hop, house music, electronica, and pretty much every musical genre, with the exception of klezmer.

Now Safar has produced a Sephardic Music Festival compilation album, which captures the sounds of the festival even for those who couldn’t be in New York for it. It includes songs by well-known musicians Matisyahu, Yasmin Levy, and Galeet Dardashti, along with less-familiar artists, like DeScribe and Shmoolik, who team up for a reggaeton-meets-Middle East pop track in French and Hebrew.

For Vox Tablet this week, Rob Weisberg, the host of WFMU’s Transpacific Sound Paradise—“New York’s peerless world music show,” according to Time Out—took a look at the album. [Running time: 15:33.]

]]>http://www.tabletmag.com/podcasts/50693/sephardic-sounds/feed21Erez Safar, a producer and DJ who performs under the name Diwon, is enchanted by music and sounds from the Sephardic world. Six years ago, he founded the annual Sephardic Music Festival, which takes place in New York City over Hanukkah and features artists who meld Sephardic motifs with hip-hop, house music, electronica, and pretty much every musical genre, with the exception of klezmer.
Now Safar has produced a Sephardic Music Festival compilation album, which captures the sounds of the festival even for those who couldn’t be in New York for it. It includes songs by well-known musicians Matisyahu, Yasmin Levy, and Galeet Dardashti, along with less-familiar artists, like DeScribe and Shmoolik, who team up for a reggaeton-meets-Middle East pop track in French and Hebrew.
For Vox Tablet this week, Rob Weisberg, the host of WFMU’s Transpacific Sound Paradise—“New York’s peerless world music show,” according to Time Out—took a look at the album. [Running time: 15:33.]
Your browser does not support the audio element.
<p>Erez Safar, a producer and DJ who performs under the name Diwon, is enchanted by music and sounds from the Sephardic world. Six years ago, he founded the annual Sephardic Music Festival, which takes place in New York City over Hanukkah and [...]Fit to Eathttp://www.tabletmag.com/podcasts/50535/fit-to-eat
http://www.tabletmag.com/podcasts/50535/fit-to-eat#commentsTue, 16 Nov 2010 12:00:11 +0000http://www.tabletmag.com/?p=50535Half of all food sold in U.S. supermarkets today is certified as kosher, according to some estimates. Depending on who’s doing the certifying, that means not just that milk and meat haven’t mixed, but potentially also that the food was handled only by certain people, that animals and workers were treated humanely, and that tiny […]

]]>Half of all food sold in U.S. supermarkets today is certified as kosher, according to some estimates. Depending on who’s doing the certifying, that means not just that milk and meat haven’t mixed, but potentially also that the food was handled only by certain people, that animals and workers were treated humanely, and that tiny insects have not made their way into the food’s crevices (consumers of broccoli, beware!), among other things. Journalist Sue Fishkoff spent the past few years studying the vast and expanding world of kosher food. She talked to manufacturers, mashgichim (who give kosher certification), rabbis, restaurateurs, and home cooks, all committed to adhering to Jewish dietary laws as variously interpreted. She’s gathered her findings in a new book, Kosher Nation, and she joined Vox Tablet host Sara Ivry to discuss who’s eating kosher these days, what makes a good mashgiach, and about how her research and writing changed her own approach to food. [Running time: 15:02]

]]>http://www.tabletmag.com/podcasts/50535/fit-to-eat/feed4Half of all food sold in U.S. supermarkets today is certified as kosher, according to some estimates. Depending on who’s doing the certifying, that means not just that milk and meat haven’t mixed, but potentially also that the food was handled only by certain people, that animals and workers were treated humanely, and that tiny insects have not made their way into the food’s crevices (consumers of broccoli, beware!), among other things. Journalist Sue Fishkoff spent the past few years studying the vast and expanding world of kosher food. She talked to manufacturers, mashgichim (who give kosher certification), rabbis, restaurateurs, and home cooks, all committed to adhering to Jewish dietary laws as variously interpreted. She’s gathered her findings in a new book, Kosher Nation, and she joined Vox Tablet host Sara Ivry to discuss who’s eating kosher these days, what makes a good mashgiach, and about how her research and writing changed her own approach to food. [Running time: 15:02]
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<p>Half of all food sold in U.S. supermarkets today is certified as kosher, according to some estimates. Depending on who’s doing the certifying, that means not just that milk and meat haven’t mixed, but potentially also that the food was [...]Regenerationhttp://www.tabletmag.com/podcasts/50400/regeneration
http://www.tabletmag.com/podcasts/50400/regeneration#commentsMon, 15 Nov 2010 12:00:50 +0000http://www.tabletmag.com/?p=50400The stalwart institutions of American Jewish life, like the UJA, Hadassah, and even local synagogues, are facing increased competition for members as younger Jews turn to less traditional avenues of cultural and religious identification, from Stand With Us, a group that focuses on Israel advocacy on campus, to small, independent minyanim, or prayer groups. Concern […]

]]>The stalwart institutions of American Jewish life, like the UJA, Hadassah, and even local synagogues, are facing increased competition for members as younger Jews turn to less traditional avenues of cultural and religious identification, from Stand With Us, a group that focuses on Israel advocacy on campus, to small, independent minyanim, or prayer groups. Concern that the movement toward non-establishment Jewish enterprises could sap the strength of American Jewish life drives the research in “Generation of Change: How Leaders in Their Twenties and Thirties are Reshaping American Jewish Life,” a new report commissioned by the Avi Chai Foundation, a non-profit devoted to Jewish continuity and inter-denominational understanding. (Avi Chai’s funders also support Tablet Magazine.)

Ari Y. Kelman, a professor of American studies at the University of California, Davis, is one of the study’s authors. He joined Vox Tablet host Sara Ivry to discuss his findings, including the fact that the Internet is weakening denominational differences among Jews, that “non-establishment” young Jewish leaders come from surprisingly “establishment” backgrounds, and that the economics of Jewish life deserve a closer look. [Running time: 16:40]

]]>http://www.tabletmag.com/podcasts/50400/regeneration/feed12The stalwart institutions of American Jewish life, like the UJA, Hadassah, and even local synagogues, are facing increased competition for members as younger Jews turn to less traditional avenues of cultural and religious identification, from Stand With Us, a group that focuses on Israel advocacy on campus, to small, independent minyanim, or prayer groups. Concern that the movement toward non-establishment Jewish enterprises could sap the strength of American Jewish life drives the research in “Generation of Change: How Leaders in Their Twenties and Thirties are Reshaping American Jewish Life,” a new report commissioned by the Avi Chai Foundation, a non-profit devoted to Jewish continuity and inter-denominational understanding. (Avi Chai’s funders also support Tablet Magazine.)
Ari Y. Kelman, a professor of American studies at the University of California, Davis, is one of the study’s authors. He joined Vox Tablet host Sara Ivry to discuss his findings, including the fact that the Internet is weakening denominational differences among Jews, that “non-establishment” young Jewish leaders come from surprisingly “establishment” backgrounds, and that the economics of Jewish life deserve a closer look. [Running time: 16:40]
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<p>The stalwart institutions of American Jewish life, like the UJA, Hadassah, and even local synagogues, are facing increased competition for members as younger Jews turn to less traditional avenues of cultural and religious identification, [...]A Serious Menschhttp://www.tabletmag.com/podcasts/48544/a-serious-mensch
http://www.tabletmag.com/podcasts/48544/a-serious-mensch#commentsMon, 01 Nov 2010 11:00:23 +0000http://www.tabletmag.com/?p=48544Fyvush Finkel made his stage debut nearly 80 years ago, when he was 9 years old, singing “O, Promise Me” at a theater in Brooklyn. Soon after, he crossed the East River to take roles in the legendary Yiddish theaters of Second Avenue. From there, he made his way onto Broadway and then into films […]

]]>Fyvush Finkel made his stage debut nearly 80 years ago, when he was 9 years old, singing “O, Promise Me” at a theater in Brooklyn. Soon after, he crossed the East River to take roles in the legendary Yiddish theaters of Second Avenue. From there, he made his way onto Broadway and then into films by the likes of Sidney Lumet, Oliver Stone, and the Coen brothers. Finkel also had recurring roles on Picket Fences, for which he won an Emmy, and Boston Public.

Now he’s starring in Fyvush Finkel Live!, a musical revue that runs through November 7 in Manhattan. On his day off, Finkel regaled Vox Tablet host Sara Ivry with stories about the early days of Yiddish theater, his expedited entry into serial television, and the mesmerizing maggid of his neighborhood shul. And he sang for her, too. Running time: 14:22.

]]>http://www.tabletmag.com/podcasts/48544/a-serious-mensch/feed21Fyvush Finkel made his stage debut nearly 80 years ago, when he was 9 years old, singing “O, Promise Me” at a theater in Brooklyn. Soon after, he crossed the East River to take roles in the legendary Yiddish theaters of Second Avenue. From there, he made his way onto Broadway and then into films by the likes of Sidney Lumet, Oliver Stone, and the Coen brothers. Finkel also had recurring roles on Picket Fences, for which he won an Emmy, and Boston Public.
Now he’s starring in Fyvush Finkel Live!, a musical revue that runs through November 7 in Manhattan. On his day off, Finkel regaled Vox Tablet host Sara Ivry with stories about the early days of Yiddish theater, his expedited entry into serial television, and the mesmerizing maggid of his neighborhood shul. And he sang for her, too. Running time: 14:22.
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<p>Fyvush Finkel made his stage debut nearly 80 years ago, when he was 9 years old, singing “O, Promise Me” at a theater in Brooklyn. Soon after, he crossed the East River to take roles in the legendary Yiddish theaters of Second Avenue. [...]A Shul for Shanghaihttp://www.tabletmag.com/podcasts/48068/a-shul-for-shanghai
http://www.tabletmag.com/podcasts/48068/a-shul-for-shanghai#commentsMon, 25 Oct 2010 11:00:35 +0000http://www.tabletmag.com/?p=48068Shanghai’s Expo 2010 will draw to a close on October 31. It is the largest World’s Fair in history, with 200 pavilions and nearly 70 million attendees expected. (Tablet Magazine’s Matthew Fishbane previewed the Expo, and its display of growing ties between China and Israel, in March.) For Chinese visitors, many of whom have never […]

]]>Shanghai’s Expo 2010 will draw to a close on October 31. It is the largest World’s Fair in history, with 200 pavilions and nearly 70 million attendees expected. (Tablet Magazine’s Matthew Fishbane previewed the Expo, and its display of growing ties between China and Israel, in March.) For Chinese visitors, many of whom have never traveled abroad, the Expo has functioned something like a very crowded and slow-moving world cruise (waits for the most popular pavilions—Saudi Arabia, China, Japan—can take 12 hours). The Expo has also given Shanghai’s Jewish residents access to a local treasure: the Ohel Rachel Synagogue.

Built in 1920, the ornate synagogue, which was a place of worship for Shanghai’s Sephardic business community, has been shuttered for more than 50 years. Jewish leaders were granted permission to hold Shabbat services there for the sixth-month duration of the Expo. Rebecca Kanthor reports for Vox Tablet from Shanghai on the history of the synagogue and its congregants and on its prospects for the future. Running time: 8:23.

]]>http://www.tabletmag.com/podcasts/48068/a-shul-for-shanghai/feed15Shanghai’s Expo 2010 will draw to a close on October 31. It is the largest World’s Fair in history, with 200 pavilions and nearly 70 million attendees expected. (Tablet Magazine’s Matthew Fishbane previewed the Expo, and its display of growing ties between China and Israel, in March.) For Chinese visitors, many of whom have never traveled abroad, the Expo has functioned something like a very crowded and slow-moving world cruise (waits for the most popular pavilions—Saudi Arabia, China, Japan—can take 12 hours). The Expo has also given Shanghai’s Jewish residents access to a local treasure: the Ohel Rachel Synagogue.
Built in 1920, the ornate synagogue, which was a place of worship for Shanghai’s Sephardic business community, has been shuttered for more than 50 years. Jewish leaders were granted permission to hold Shabbat services there for the sixth-month duration of the Expo. Rebecca Kanthor reports for Vox Tablet from Shanghai on the history of the synagogue and its congregants and on its prospects for the future. Running time: 8:23.
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<p>Shanghai’s Expo 2010 will draw to a close on October 31. It is the largest World’s Fair in history, with 200 pavilions and nearly 70 million attendees expected. (Tablet Magazine’s Matthew Fishbane previewed the Expo, and its display [...]Close Encounterhttp://www.tabletmag.com/podcasts/47552/close-encounter
http://www.tabletmag.com/podcasts/47552/close-encounter#commentsMon, 18 Oct 2010 11:00:59 +0000http://www.tabletmag.com/?p=47552Rodger Kamenetz’s Burnt Books, the latest volume in the Nextbook Press Jewish Encounters series, is a dual biography of Rabbi Nachman of Bratslav and Franz Kafka, the great surrealist writer. Both men left instructions that their writings be destroyed after their deaths, nearly a century apart; both men’s wishes were ignored. In time, both men […]

]]>Rodger Kamenetz’s Burnt Books, the latest volume in the Nextbook Press Jewish Encounters series, is a dual biography of Rabbi Nachman of Bratslav and Franz Kafka, the great surrealist writer. Both men left instructions that their writings be destroyed after their deaths, nearly a century apart; both men’s wishes were ignored. In time, both men became icons: On Rosh Hashanah each year, thousands of Jews make a pilgrimage to Nachman’s grave in Ukraine; debate rages still over the fate of Kafka’s papers. Kamenetz sees Nachman and Kafka as kindred spirits, men whose works speak to one another about the challenges of maintaining tradition in the face of modernity.

Kamenetz spoke to Vox Tablet host Sara Ivry about the two men, about the relationship each had to the Haskalah, the Jewish Enlightenment, and about how Nachman’s fable about a turkey responds to Kafka’s tale of an insect. Running time: 17:57.

]]>http://www.tabletmag.com/podcasts/47552/close-encounter/feed21Rodger Kamenetz’s Burnt Books, the latest volume in the Nextbook Press Jewish Encounters series, is a dual biography of Rabbi Nachman of Bratslav and Franz Kafka, the great surrealist writer. Both men left instructions that their writings be destroyed after their deaths, nearly a century apart; both men’s wishes were ignored. In time, both men became icons: On Rosh Hashanah each year, thousands of Jews make a pilgrimage to Nachman’s grave in Ukraine; debate rages still over the fate of Kafka’s papers. Kamenetz sees Nachman and Kafka as kindred spirits, men whose works speak to one another about the challenges of maintaining tradition in the face of modernity.
Kamenetz spoke to Vox Tablet host Sara Ivry about the two men, about the relationship each had to the Haskalah, the Jewish Enlightenment, and about how Nachman’s fable about a turkey responds to Kafka’s tale of an insect. Running time: 17:57.
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<p>Rodger Kamenetz’s Burnt Books, the latest volume in the Nextbook Press Jewish Encounters series, is a dual biography of Rabbi Nachman of Bratslav and Franz Kafka, the great surrealist writer. Both men left instructions that their [...]Grandmother’s Househttp://www.tabletmag.com/podcasts/46796/grandmother%e2%80%99s-house
http://www.tabletmag.com/podcasts/46796/grandmother%e2%80%99s-house#commentsMon, 11 Oct 2010 11:01:03 +0000http://www.tabletmag.com/?p=46796Growing up in Memphis, Clare Burson first heard about the Holocaust in school. Her grandparents were Jews from central and eastern Europe, but her mother warned her not to ask them questions about it. Burson heeded that warning until college, when a year spent in Germany prompted her to talk to her grandmother about her […]

]]>Growing up in Memphis, Clare Burson first heard about the Holocaust in school. Her grandparents were Jews from central and eastern Europe, but her mother warned her not to ask them questions about it. Burson heeded that warning until college, when a year spent in Germany prompted her to talk to her grandmother about her childhood in Leipzig, about her emigration in 1938, when she was 19, and about the fate of the parents—Clare’s great-grandparents—she left behind.

Those conversations led to more travel, including a trip to Leipzig with her grandmother, and they inspired Silver and Ash, a new album that weaves fragments from her family history into deceptively simple, often haunting, indie-folk songs. Burson, who now lives in Brooklyn, invited Vox Tablet host Sara Ivry to her apartment to talk about her research, her music (influenced equally by Vienna and Nashville), and the twists of fate that mark her family’s past. She also sings a song. Running time: 23:07.

]]>http://www.tabletmag.com/podcasts/46796/grandmother%e2%80%99s-house/feed8Growing up in Memphis, Clare Burson first heard about the Holocaust in school. Her grandparents were Jews from central and eastern Europe, but her mother warned her not to ask them questions about it. Burson heeded that warning until college, when a year spent in Germany prompted her to talk to her grandmother about her childhood in Leipzig, about her emigration in 1938, when she was 19, and about the fate of the parents—Clare’s great-grandparents—she left behind.
Those conversations led to more travel, including a trip to Leipzig with her grandmother, and they inspired Silver and Ash, a new album that weaves fragments from her family history into deceptively simple, often haunting, indie-folk songs. Burson, who now lives in Brooklyn, invited Vox Tablet host Sara Ivry to her apartment to talk about her research, her music (influenced equally by Vienna and Nashville), and the twists of fate that mark her family’s past. She also sings a song. Running time: 23:07.
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<p>Growing up in Memphis, Clare Burson first heard about the Holocaust in school. Her grandparents were Jews from central and eastern Europe, but her mother warned her not to ask them questions about it. Burson heeded that warning until [...]Up With Pessimism!http://www.tabletmag.com/podcasts/45932/up-with-pessimism
http://www.tabletmag.com/podcasts/45932/up-with-pessimism#commentsMon, 04 Oct 2010 11:00:25 +0000http://www.tabletmag.com/?p=45932In his new essay collection, Half Empty, author and actor David Rakoff dissects a variety of cultural phenomena—from the musical Rent, to the patient-therapist relationship—with insight, sharp wit, and deep wariness. His is a deeply pessimistic perspective, as he’s the first to acknowledge. But, as he argues explicitly in the first essay and implicitly elsewhere, […]

]]>In his new essay collection, Half Empty, author and actor David Rakoff dissects a variety of cultural phenomena—from the musical Rent, to the patient-therapist relationship—with insight, sharp wit, and deep wariness. His is a deeply pessimistic perspective, as he’s the first to acknowledge. But, as he argues explicitly in the first essay and implicitly elsewhere, pessimism is not the same as a bad attitude, and it may, in fact, be an effective survival strategy.

On Vox Tablet this week, host Sara Ivry presents Rakoff, a Tablet Magazine contributing editor, with three scenarios generally deemed to be good fun and asks him to present his more cautious take on them. (Sound designer Jonathan Mitchell helped her in the project.) Rakoff also discusses the origins of his pessimism and how he copes with a life-threatening illness—while writing the book, he learned he had cancer and is now undergoing chemotherapy—without the armor of positive thinking.

]]>http://www.tabletmag.com/podcasts/45932/up-with-pessimism/feed3In his new essay collection, Half Empty, author and actor David Rakoff dissects a variety of cultural phenomena—from the musical Rent, to the patient-therapist relationship—with insight, sharp wit, and deep wariness. His is a deeply pessimistic perspective, as he’s the first to acknowledge. But, as he argues explicitly in the first essay and implicitly elsewhere, pessimism is not the same as a bad attitude, and it may, in fact, be an effective survival strategy.
On Vox Tablet this week, host Sara Ivry presents Rakoff, a Tablet Magazine contributing editor, with three scenarios generally deemed to be good fun and asks him to present his more cautious take on them. (Sound designer Jonathan Mitchell helped her in the project.) Rakoff also discusses the origins of his pessimism and how he copes with a life-threatening illness—while writing the book, he learned he had cancer and is now undergoing chemotherapy—without the armor of positive thinking.
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<p>In his new essay collection, Half Empty, author and actor David Rakoff dissects a variety of cultural phenomena—from the musical Rent, to the patient-therapist relationship—with insight, sharp wit, and deep wariness. His is a deeply [...]yesMost Favored Nationshttp://www.tabletmag.com/podcasts/45759/most-favored-nations
http://www.tabletmag.com/podcasts/45759/most-favored-nations#commentsMon, 27 Sep 2010 11:00:48 +0000http://www.tabletmag.com/?p=45759The Jewish people and the Founding Fathers of the United States have at least one thing in common: the belief that they were chosen by God. But chosen for what, exactly? That is a question that has vexed Jews, Americans, and everyone else for ages. Tablet Magazine’s Liel Liebovitz and sociologist Todd Gitlin have come […]

]]>The Jewish people and the Founding Fathers of the United States have at least one thing in common: the belief that they were chosen by God. But chosen for what, exactly? That is a question that has vexed Jews, Americans, and everyone else for ages. Tablet Magazine’s Liel Liebovitz and sociologist Todd Gitlin have come up with an answer, and, in their new book, The Chosen Peoples: America, Israel, and the Ordeals of Divine Election, they delve into the moral implications of being chosen, both in the American context and the Jewish one. They joined Sara Ivry on Vox Tablet to talk about the origins and tenacity of the idea of chosenness, how it affects contemporary politics, and how to make good on a concept that has not always served either people well.

]]>http://www.tabletmag.com/podcasts/45759/most-favored-nations/feed24The Jewish people and the Founding Fathers of the United States have at least one thing in common: the belief that they were chosen by God. But chosen for what, exactly? That is a question that has vexed Jews, Americans, and everyone else for ages. Tablet Magazine’s Liel Liebovitz and sociologist Todd Gitlin have come up with an answer, and, in their new book, The Chosen Peoples: America, Israel, and the Ordeals of Divine Election, they delve into the moral implications of being chosen, both in the American context and the Jewish one. They joined Sara Ivry on Vox Tablet to talk about the origins and tenacity of the idea of chosenness, how it affects contemporary politics, and how to make good on a concept that has not always served either people well.
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<p>The Jewish people and the Founding Fathers of the United States have at least one thing in common: the belief that they were chosen by God. But chosen for what, exactly? That is a question that has vexed Jews, Americans, and everyone else [...]Back in the USSRhttp://www.tabletmag.com/podcasts/45579/back-in-the-ussr
http://www.tabletmag.com/podcasts/45579/back-in-the-ussr#commentsWed, 22 Sep 2010 11:00:42 +0000http://www.tabletmag.com/?p=45579More than two decades after the fall of the Soviet Union, the history of discrimination against Jews there and the reprisals against those who sought to leave are a distant memory for many—as is the Struggle for Soviet Jewry, the U.S. movement that formed in response. One way the movement raised awareness of Soviet Jewry […]

]]>More than two decades after the fall of the Soviet Union, the history of discrimination against Jews there and the reprisals against those who sought to leave are a distant memory for many—as is the Struggle for Soviet Jewry, the U.S. movement that formed in response. One way the movement raised awareness of Soviet Jewry was to encourage American Jewish teens to adopt a Soviet “twin” with which they shared their bar and bat mitzvah celebrations—as journalist Gal Beckerman did at his bar mitzvah in 1989. When he wondered recently what became of his twin, Maxim Yankelevich, Beckerman’s curiosity led him to write When They Come for Us, We’ll Be Gone: The Epic Struggle to Save Soviet Jewry, a comprehensive study of the movement. He joined Vox Tablet host Sara Ivry to discuss the movement’s beginnings, some of the key refuseniks—including Natan Sharansky—whose plight galvanized American students, and the secret role Israel played in fomenting Western sympathies for those refuseniks.

]]>http://www.tabletmag.com/podcasts/45579/back-in-the-ussr/feed13More than two decades after the fall of the Soviet Union, the history of discrimination against Jews there and the reprisals against those who sought to leave are a distant memory for many—as is the Struggle for Soviet Jewry, the U.S. movement that formed in response. One way the movement raised awareness of Soviet Jewry was to encourage American Jewish teens to adopt a Soviet “twin” with which they shared their bar and bat mitzvah celebrations—as journalist Gal Beckerman did at his bar mitzvah in 1989. When he wondered recently what became of his twin, Maxim Yankelevich, Beckerman’s curiosity led him to write When They Come for Us, We’ll Be Gone: The Epic Struggle to Save Soviet Jewry, a comprehensive study of the movement. He joined Vox Tablet host Sara Ivry to discuss the movement’s beginnings, some of the key refuseniks—including Natan Sharansky—whose plight galvanized American students, and the secret role Israel played in fomenting Western sympathies for those refuseniks.
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<p>More than two decades after the fall of the Soviet Union, the history of discrimination against Jews there and the reprisals against those who sought to leave are a distant memory for many—as is the Struggle for Soviet Jewry, the U.S. [...]2,000-Year-Old Manhttp://www.tabletmag.com/podcasts/45261/2000-year-old-man
http://www.tabletmag.com/podcasts/45261/2000-year-old-man#commentsMon, 20 Sep 2010 11:00:49 +0000http://www.tabletmag.com/?p=45261A rabbi is challenged to boil down all of Judaism into a few sentences. He rises to the occasion, saying: What is hateful unto you, do not do unto your neighbor. This is the whole Torah, the rest is commentary. Now go and learn. Though uttered some 2,000 years ago by the great Talmudic rabbi, […]

]]>A rabbi is challenged to boil down all of Judaism into a few sentences. He rises to the occasion, saying: What is hateful unto you, do not do unto your neighbor. This is the whole Torah, the rest is commentary. Now go and learn.

Though uttered some 2,000 years ago by the great Talmudic rabbi, Hillel, that advice is still apt today. Its astuteness has so impressed Rabbi Joseph Telushkin over the years that Hillel has become one of Telushkin’s personal heroes. Now Telushkin has written a book about Hillel for Nextbook Press. It’s called Hillel: If Not Now, When? and Telushkin joins Sara Ivry on Vox Tablet to talk about the Talmudist’s approach to conversion; his chief rabbinical rival, Shammai; and about how Hillel would rather sit in the snow than risk missing a good Torah lesson.

]]>http://www.tabletmag.com/podcasts/45261/2000-year-old-man/feed7A rabbi is challenged to boil down all of Judaism into a few sentences. He rises to the occasion, saying: What is hateful unto you, do not do unto your neighbor. This is the whole Torah, the rest is commentary. Now go and learn.
Though uttered some 2,000 years ago by the great Talmudic rabbi, Hillel, that advice is still apt today. Its astuteness has so impressed Rabbi Joseph Telushkin over the years that Hillel has become one of Telushkin’s personal heroes. Now Telushkin has written a book about Hillel for Nextbook Press. It’s called Hillel: If Not Now, When? and Telushkin joins Sara Ivry on Vox Tablet to talk about the Talmudist’s approach to conversion; his chief rabbinical rival, Shammai; and about how Hillel would rather sit in the snow than risk missing a good Torah lesson.
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<p>A rabbi is challenged to boil down all of Judaism into a few sentences. He rises to the occasion, saying: What is hateful unto you, do not do unto your neighbor. This is the whole Torah, the rest is commentary. Now go and learn. Though [...]Gimme Shelterhttp://www.tabletmag.com/podcasts/45021/gimme-shelter
http://www.tabletmag.com/podcasts/45021/gimme-shelter#commentsThu, 16 Sep 2010 11:00:08 +0000http://www.tabletmag.com/?p=45021In just a few days, 12 high-concept sukkahs, or “booths,” will crowd Manhattan’s Union Square. They are the finalists in an international architectural competition called “Sukkah City,” which was launched by the social entrepreneurs of Reboot five months ago in anticipation of the Sukkot holiday. While designs had to conform with both biblical law and […]

]]>In just a few days, 12 high-concept sukkahs, or “booths,” will crowd Manhattan’s Union Square. They are the finalists in an international architectural competition called “Sukkah City,” which was launched by the social entrepreneurs of Reboot five months ago in anticipation of the Sukkot holiday. While designs had to conform with both biblical law and New York City building codes, they don’t lack for originality. Reporter Eric Molinsky spoke with the creative minds behind the competition, as well as with judges and competition entrants, about this latest attempt to give Sukkot, and the sukkah, a shot in the arm.

]]>http://www.tabletmag.com/podcasts/45021/gimme-shelter/feed1In just a few days, 12 high-concept sukkahs, or “booths,” will crowd Manhattan’s Union Square. They are the finalists in an international architectural competition called “Sukkah City,” which was launched by the social entrepreneurs of Reboot five months ago in anticipation of the Sukkot holiday. While designs had to conform with both biblical law and New York City building codes, they don’t lack for originality. Reporter Eric Molinsky spoke with the creative minds behind the competition, as well as with judges and competition entrants, about this latest attempt to give Sukkot, and the sukkah, a shot in the arm.
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<p>In just a few days, 12 high-concept sukkahs, or “booths,” will crowd Manhattan’s Union Square. They are the finalists in an international architectural competition called “Sukkah City,” which was launched by the social [...]In the Rearviewhttp://www.tabletmag.com/podcasts/44710/in-the-rearview
http://www.tabletmag.com/podcasts/44710/in-the-rearview#commentsWed, 08 Sep 2010 11:00:10 +0000http://www.tabletmag.com/?p=44710Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement, is for many American Jews the one day each year they dedicate to thinking about their lives, their transgressions, and their futures. But some people think about their actions much more frequently, and writer Darin Strauss is among them. Much of what he’s thought about over the past 20 […]

]]>Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement, is for many American Jews the one day each year they dedicate to thinking about their lives, their transgressions, and their futures. But some people think about their actions much more frequently, and writer Darin Strauss is among them. Much of what he’s thought about over the past 20 years is a fatal car accident during his last days in high school; Strauss was driving, and a classmate was killed.

In a new memoir, Half a Life, Strauss writes about the crash and its aftermath. He joined Vox Tablet host Sara Ivry to talk about how this tragedy has shaped his life, about guilt and doubt, and about his fears for his children.

]]>http://www.tabletmag.com/podcasts/44710/in-the-rearview/feed3Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement, is for many American Jews the one day each year they dedicate to thinking about their lives, their transgressions, and their futures. But some people think about their actions much more frequently, and writer Darin Strauss is among them. Much of what he’s thought about over the past 20 years is a fatal car accident during his last days in high school; Strauss was driving, and a classmate was killed.
In a new memoir, Half a Life, Strauss writes about the crash and its aftermath. He joined Vox Tablet host Sara Ivry to talk about how this tragedy has shaped his life, about guilt and doubt, and about his fears for his children.
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<p>Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement, is for many American Jews the one day each year they dedicate to thinking about their lives, their transgressions, and their futures. But some people think about their actions much more frequently, and [...]Kosher Pigskinhttp://www.tabletmag.com/podcasts/43671/kosher-pigskin
http://www.tabletmag.com/podcasts/43671/kosher-pigskin#commentsMon, 30 Aug 2010 12:00:46 +0000http://www.tabletmag.com/?p=43671Football season is upon us once again—it kicks off on Rosh Hashanah, with a game between the Super Bowl champion New Orleans Saints and the Minnesota Vikings, a team that boasts the only Jewish quarterback in the NFL, Sage Rosenfels. (His playing time has been eclipsed mightily by Brett Favre.) But Rosenfels isn’t the only […]

]]>Football season is upon us once again—it kicks off on Rosh Hashanah, with a game between the Super Bowl champion New Orleans Saints and the Minnesota Vikings, a team that boasts the only Jewish quarterback in the NFL, Sage Rosenfels. (His playing time has been eclipsed mightily by Brett Favre.)

But Rosenfels isn’t the only Jew in professional football. Tablet Magazine’s Marc Tracy has been keeping tabs on his coreligionists on the gridiron. He spoke with The Atlantic Wire‘s Ray Gustini, a similarly avid fan who formerly wrote for the National Football Post, about which teams are friendly to the Jews—and which could end up as Tablet Magazine’s favorite squad.

]]>http://www.tabletmag.com/podcasts/43671/kosher-pigskin/feed19Football season is upon us once again—it kicks off on Rosh Hashanah, with a game between the Super Bowl champion New Orleans Saints and the Minnesota Vikings, a team that boasts the only Jewish quarterback in the NFL, Sage Rosenfels. (His playing time has been eclipsed mightily by Brett Favre.)
But Rosenfels isn’t the only Jew in professional football. Tablet Magazine’s Marc Tracy has been keeping tabs on his coreligionists on the gridiron. He spoke with The Atlantic Wire‘s Ray Gustini, a similarly avid fan who formerly wrote for the National Football Post, about which teams are friendly to the Jews—and which could end up as Tablet Magazine’s favorite squad.
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<p>Football season is upon us once again—it kicks off on Rosh Hashanah, with a game between the Super Bowl champion New Orleans Saints and the Minnesota Vikings, a team that boasts the only Jewish quarterback in the NFL, Sage Rosenfels. [...]Musical Societyhttp://www.tabletmag.com/podcasts/42988/musical-society
http://www.tabletmag.com/podcasts/42988/musical-society#commentsMon, 23 Aug 2010 11:00:29 +0000http://www.tabletmag.com/?p=42988In the early 20th century, a group of Jewish composers including Joel Engel in Moscow and Mikhail Gnesin in St. Petersburg sought to find, record, and preserve the music of the shtetls in the Pale of Settlement. They then used that music as inspiration for their own high art compositions, hoping to create a Jewish […]

]]>In the early 20th century, a group of Jewish composers including Joel Engel in Moscow and Mikhail Gnesin in St. Petersburg sought to find, record, and preserve the music of the shtetls in the Pale of Settlement. They then used that music as inspiration for their own high art compositions, hoping to create a Jewish national music that would be celebrated across Russia and Europe. In The Most Musical Nation: Jews and Culture in the Late Russian Empire, James Loeffler, a professor of Jewish history at the University of Virginia, tells the story of these musicians and their legacy. (Adam Kirsch’s reviewed The Most Musical Nationhere.) Loeffler spoke to Vox Tablet host Sara Ivry about what he discovered while writing this new book.

]]>http://www.tabletmag.com/podcasts/42988/musical-society/feed5In the early 20th century, a group of Jewish composers including Joel Engel in Moscow and Mikhail Gnesin in St. Petersburg sought to find, record, and preserve the music of the shtetls in the Pale of Settlement. They then used that music as inspiration for their own high art compositions, hoping to create a Jewish national music that would be celebrated across Russia and Europe. In The Most Musical Nation: Jews and Culture in the Late Russian Empire, James Loeffler, a professor of Jewish history at the University of Virginia, tells the story of these musicians and their legacy. (Adam Kirsch’s reviewed The Most Musical Nation here.) Loeffler spoke to Vox Tablet host Sara Ivry about what he discovered while writing this new book.
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<p>In the early 20th century, a group of Jewish composers including Joel Engel in Moscow and Mikhail Gnesin in St. Petersburg sought to find, record, and preserve the music of the shtetls in the Pale of Settlement. They then used that music [...]Leap of Faithhttp://www.tabletmag.com/podcasts/42350/leap-of-faith
http://www.tabletmag.com/podcasts/42350/leap-of-faith#commentsMon, 16 Aug 2010 11:00:22 +0000http://www.tabletmag.com/?p=42350David Preiss Skipp Porteous has been a minister, a First Amendment activist, a convert to Judaism, and a mole hired by the FBI to infiltrate neo-Nazi groups. But it’s his work over the past few years as a private investigator that led him to the famously unsolved case of a man known only by the […]

Skipp Porteous has been a minister, a First Amendment activist, a convert to Judaism, and a mole hired by the FBI to infiltrate neo-Nazi groups. But it’s his work over the past few years as a private investigator that led him to the famously unsolved case of a man known only by the alias “D.B. Cooper,” who hijacked an airplane in 1971 and left it, midair, via the aft stairway with parachutes and $200,000 ransom, never to be seen or heard from again. As Porteous recounts in his new book Into the Blast: The True Story of D.B. Cooper, he was contacted nearly four decades after the Cooper incident by a man who had come to believe that his brother was the hijacker. After a two-year investigation, Porteous is inclined to agree. Reporter Jon Kalish spoke to this unusual private eye.

]]>http://www.tabletmag.com/podcasts/42350/leap-of-faith/feed5
David Preiss
Skipp Porteous has been a minister, a First Amendment activist, a convert to Judaism, and a mole hired by the FBI to infiltrate neo-Nazi groups. But it’s his work over the past few years as a private investigator that led him to the famously unsolved case of a man known only by the alias “D.B. Cooper,” who hijacked an airplane in 1971 and left it, midair, via the aft stairway with parachutes and $200,000 ransom, never to be seen or heard from again. As Porteous recounts in his new book Into the Blast: The True Story of D.B. Cooper, he was contacted nearly four decades after the Cooper incident by a man who had come to believe that his brother was the hijacker. After a two-year investigation, Porteous is inclined to agree. Reporter Jon Kalish spoke to this unusual private eye.
Your browser does not support the audio element.
<p>David Preiss Skipp Porteous has been a minister, a First Amendment activist, a convert to Judaism, and a mole hired by the FBI to infiltrate neo-Nazi groups. But it’s his work over the past few years as a private investigator that led [...]Some Peoplehttp://www.tabletmag.com/podcasts/41943/some-people
http://www.tabletmag.com/podcasts/41943/some-people#commentsMon, 09 Aug 2010 11:00:44 +0000http://www.tabletmag.com/?p=41943Fresh out of college, Rachel Shukert, who majored in acting, landed a job with a theater company bound for Central Europe. In her new memoir, Everything Is Going to Be Great, she recounts the pleasures and humiliations of her time abroad, unabashedly exposing her own prejudices and the prejudices of others. For this week’s Vox […]

]]>Fresh out of college, Rachel Shukert, who majored in acting, landed a job with a theater company bound for Central Europe. In her new memoir, Everything Is Going to Be Great, she recounts the pleasures and humiliations of her time abroad, unabashedly exposing her own prejudices and the prejudices of others. For this week’s Vox Tablet, she reads an excerpt that chronicles the denouement of an ill-fated romance. The man in question is Berthold—Viennese, twice her age, and both overprotective and dismissive when it comes to Shukert’s self-identification as a Jew. (“No, no,” he assures her, “you are beautiful.”) Their differences come to a head during a wander through Vienna’s best-known flea market, which contains some chilling artifacts from the city’s past.

]]>http://www.tabletmag.com/podcasts/41943/some-people/feed37Fresh out of college, Rachel Shukert, who majored in acting, landed a job with a theater company bound for Central Europe. In her new memoir, Everything Is Going to Be Great, she recounts the pleasures and humiliations of her time abroad, unabashedly exposing her own prejudices and the prejudices of others. For this week’s Vox Tablet, she reads an excerpt that chronicles the denouement of an ill-fated romance. The man in question is Berthold—Viennese, twice her age, and both overprotective and dismissive when it comes to Shukert’s self-identification as a Jew. (“No, no,” he assures her, “you are beautiful.”) Their differences come to a head during a wander through Vienna’s best-known flea market, which contains some chilling artifacts from the city’s past.
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<p>Fresh out of college, Rachel Shukert, who majored in acting, landed a job with a theater company bound for Central Europe. In her new memoir, Everything Is Going to Be Great, she recounts the pleasures and humiliations of her time abroad, [...]End of the Worldhttp://www.tabletmag.com/podcasts/40537/end-of-the-world
http://www.tabletmag.com/podcasts/40537/end-of-the-world#commentsTue, 27 Jul 2010 11:00:57 +0000http://www.tabletmag.com/?p=40537This week, Vox Tablet invites listeners to consider some unconventional summer reading. Gary Shteyngart and Joshua Cohen have both come out with new novels that paint a very dark picture of the future. In Super Sad True Love Story, Shteyngart envisions a not-so-distant world in which the United States is a crumbling, militarized empire, public […]

]]>This week, Vox Tablet invites listeners to consider some unconventional summer reading. Gary Shteyngart and Joshua Cohen have both come out with new novels that paint a very dark picture of the future. InSuper Sad True Love Story, Shteyngart envisions a not-so-distant world in which the United States is a crumbling, militarized empire, public and private life are indistinguishable and projected for all to see through social networking technologies, and the reading of books is a lost art. In Cohen’s novel Witz, a mysterious plague has claimed the lives of all but one of the world’s Jews, and that last Jew, Benjamin Israelien, is subject to the passions of a public that is equal parts philo- and anti-Semitic.

The novelists take their dystopian visions in radically different directions—Shteyngart has written a fast-moving love story, while Cohen’s is more stream-of-Jewish-consciousness, dense with wordplay and religious and cultural references. Tablet Magazine Editor-in-Chief Alana Newhouse sat down with the two of them for a sometimes bookish, other times bawdy, conversation over drinks and smoked fish, on a sweltering summer day on the boardwalk of Brooklyn’s Brighton Beach.

]]>http://www.tabletmag.com/podcasts/40537/end-of-the-world/feed16This week, Vox Tablet invites listeners to consider some unconventional summer reading. Gary Shteyngart and Joshua Cohen have both come out with new novels that paint a very dark picture of the future. In Super Sad True Love Story, Shteyngart envisions a not-so-distant world in which the United States is a crumbling, militarized empire, public and private life are indistinguishable and projected for all to see through social networking technologies, and the reading of books is a lost art. In Cohen’s novel Witz, a mysterious plague has claimed the lives of all but one of the world’s Jews, and that last Jew, Benjamin Israelien, is subject to the passions of a public that is equal parts philo- and anti-Semitic.
The novelists take their dystopian visions in radically different directions—Shteyngart has written a fast-moving love story, while Cohen’s is more stream-of-Jewish-consciousness, dense with wordplay and religious and cultural references. Tablet Magazine Editor-in-Chief Alana Newhouse sat down with the two of them for a sometimes bookish, other times bawdy, conversation over drinks and smoked fish, on a sweltering summer day on the boardwalk of Brooklyn’s Brighton Beach.
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<p>This week, Vox Tablet invites listeners to consider some unconventional summer reading. Gary Shteyngart and Joshua Cohen have both come out with new novels that paint a very dark picture of the future. In Super Sad True Love Story, [...]The Playershttp://www.tabletmag.com/podcasts/38590/the-players
http://www.tabletmag.com/podcasts/38590/the-players#commentsWed, 21 Jul 2010 11:00:46 +0000http://www.tabletmag.com/?p=38590Israel may be a small country, but when it comes to classical music, it’s a powerhouse. From his position on the board of New York’s Mannes School of Music, David P. Goldman has had the chance to witness Israeli prominence in the field firsthand. In an effort to get a better handle on the phenomenon, […]

]]>Israel may be a small country, but when it comes to classical music, it’s a powerhouse. From his position on the board of New York’s Mannes School of Music, David P. Goldman has had the chance to witness Israeli prominence in the field firsthand. In an effort to get a better handle on the phenomenon, Goldman, a political commentator and music theorist, recently traveled to Israel to investigate the secret to Israel’s classical music success. He wrote an essay for Tablet Magazine based on his trip, and he also played some pieces for Tablet’s Gabriel Sanders while discussing how Russian immigrants have changed the study of music in Israel and how interpreting a piece of music is akin to the study of Talmud.

]]>http://www.tabletmag.com/podcasts/38590/the-players/feed3Israel may be a small country, but when it comes to classical music, it’s a powerhouse. From his position on the board of New York’s Mannes School of Music, David P. Goldman has had the chance to witness Israeli prominence in the field firsthand. In an effort to get a better handle on the phenomenon, Goldman, a political commentator and music theorist, recently traveled to Israel to investigate the secret to Israel’s classical music success. He wrote an essay for Tablet Magazine based on his trip, and he also played some pieces for Tablet’s Gabriel Sanders while discussing how Russian immigrants have changed the study of music in Israel and how interpreting a piece of music is akin to the study of Talmud.
READ GOLDMAN’S ESSAY HERE.
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<p>Israel may be a small country, but when it comes to classical music, it’s a powerhouse. From his position on the board of New York’s Mannes School of Music, David P. Goldman has had the chance to witness Israeli prominence in the field [...]Back to Babylonhttp://www.tabletmag.com/podcasts/38281/back-to-babylon
http://www.tabletmag.com/podcasts/38281/back-to-babylon#commentsMon, 12 Jul 2010 11:00:58 +0000http://www.tabletmag.com/?p=38281The Bowls Project is an unusual sound and architectural installation now on display at the Yerba Buena Center for Arts in San Francisco. A combination of a song cycle, a double-vaulted masonry dome, strangers’ secrets, and inscriptions found in Babylonian Jewish amulets known as “demon bowls,” the Bowls Project is the creation of the composer […]

]]>The Bowls Project is an unusual sound and architectural installation now on display at the Yerba Buena Center for Arts in San Francisco. A combination of a song cycle, a double-vaulted masonry dome, strangers’ secrets, and inscriptions found in Babylonian Jewish amulets known as “demon bowls,” the Bowls Project is the creation of the composer and performer Jewlia Eisenberg, together with her band, Charming Hostess, and a gang of volunteer architects, masons, and engineers. Tablet Magazine contributor Hadara Graubart spoke to Eisenberg about the project shortly before its opening on July 6. It runs through August 22, and it includes an opportunity to shed some demons of your own. (If you’re abstaining from music during the Three Weeks that precede Tisha B’Av, you’ll want to wait until July 21 to listen.)

]]>http://www.tabletmag.com/podcasts/38281/back-to-babylon/feed5The Bowls Project is an unusual sound and architectural installation now on display at the Yerba Buena Center for Arts in San Francisco. A combination of a song cycle, a double-vaulted masonry dome, strangers’ secrets, and inscriptions found in Babylonian Jewish amulets known as “demon bowls,” the Bowls Project is the creation of the composer and performer Jewlia Eisenberg, together with her band, Charming Hostess, and a gang of volunteer architects, masons, and engineers. Tablet Magazine contributor Hadara Graubart spoke to Eisenberg about the project shortly before its opening on July 6. It runs through August 22, and it includes an opportunity to shed some demons of your own. (If you’re abstaining from music during the Three Weeks that precede Tisha B’Av, you’ll want to wait until July 21 to listen.)
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<p>The Bowls Project is an unusual sound and architectural installation now on display at the Yerba Buena Center for Arts in San Francisco. A combination of a song cycle, a double-vaulted masonry dome, strangers’ secrets, and inscriptions [...]Ashkenaz Unboundhttp://www.tabletmag.com/podcasts/37477/ashkenaz-unbound
http://www.tabletmag.com/podcasts/37477/ashkenaz-unbound#commentsMon, 28 Jun 2010 11:00:04 +0000http://www.tabletmag.com/?p=37477Two years ago, the YIVO Institute for Jewish Research, which is devoted to the study and preservation of Ashkenazic culture, published the trailblazing Encyclopedia of Jews in Eastern Europe. A remarkable resource, it offers some 1,800 entries on everything from general topics like art to key figures like Ludwik Zamenhof, the creator of Esperanto. Earlier […]

]]>Two years ago, the YIVO Institute for Jewish Research, which is devoted to the study and preservation of Ashkenazic culture, published the trailblazing Encyclopedia of Jews in Eastern Europe. A remarkable resource, it offers some 1,800 entries on everything from general topics like art to key figures like Ludwik Zamenhof, the creator of Esperanto. Earlier this month, YIVO launched an online version, which not only offers free access to scholars and students the world over, but also provides supplemental material like audio and video recordings that the print edition couldn’t.

To discuss the project, and the new possibilities offered by its digital version, Tablet Magazine’s Gabriel Sanders had a chat with the encyclopedia’s editor in chief, McGill University historian Gershon Hundert.

]]>http://www.tabletmag.com/podcasts/37477/ashkenaz-unbound/feed10Two years ago, the YIVO Institute for Jewish Research, which is devoted to the study and preservation of Ashkenazic culture, published the trailblazing Encyclopedia of Jews in Eastern Europe. A remarkable resource, it offers some 1,800 entries on everything from general topics like art to key figures like Ludwik Zamenhof, the creator of Esperanto. Earlier this month, YIVO launched an online version, which not only offers free access to scholars and students the world over, but also provides supplemental material like audio and video recordings that the print edition couldn’t.
To discuss the project, and the new possibilities offered by its digital version, Tablet Magazine’s Gabriel Sanders had a chat with the encyclopedia’s editor in chief, McGill University historian Gershon Hundert.
Your browser does not support the audio element.
<p>Two years ago, the YIVO Institute for Jewish Research, which is devoted to the study and preservation of Ashkenazic culture, published the trailblazing Encyclopedia of Jews in Eastern Europe. A remarkable resource, it offers some 1,800 [...]Power Chordshttp://www.tabletmag.com/podcasts/36365/power-chords
http://www.tabletmag.com/podcasts/36365/power-chords#commentsWed, 16 Jun 2010 11:00:23 +0000http://www.tabletmag.com/?p=36365The six-person band Yiddish Princess takes the sounds of ’80s rock—from the ethereal vocalizations of Kate Bush to the pounding drums and guitar riffs of Bon Jovi—and marries them with Yiddish songs. Some of the songs are Yiddish poems; some are original works by Sarah Gordon, the band’s lead singer. Gordon comes to the Yiddish […]

]]>The six-person band Yiddish Princess takes the sounds of ’80s rock—from the ethereal vocalizations of Kate Bush to the pounding drums and guitar riffs of Bon Jovi—and marries them with Yiddish songs. Some of the songs are Yiddish poems; some are original works by Sarah Gordon, the band’s lead singer. Gordon comes to the Yiddish repertoire honestly; her mother is Adrienne Cooper, who’s been described as “the premier female Yiddish vocalist and interpreter of Yiddish song.” Other band members are similarly fluent in Yiddish musical traditions. Michael Winograd, the band’s keyboard player, is well known as a clarinetist who has played with Frank London, the Klezmatics, and Socalled. Yoshie Fruchter, the band’s guitarist, also plays with Pitom, which has recorded an album on John Zorn’s Tzadik Records.

Vox Tablet’s Sara Ivry joins Gordon, Winograd, and Fruchter in Winograd’s bedroom-turned-studio to talk about their debut eponymous EP, out this week, and to play a little music on the fly.

]]>http://www.tabletmag.com/podcasts/36365/power-chords/feed5The six-person band Yiddish Princess takes the sounds of ’80s rock—from the ethereal vocalizations of Kate Bush to the pounding drums and guitar riffs of Bon Jovi—and marries them with Yiddish songs. Some of the songs are Yiddish poems; some are original works by Sarah Gordon, the band’s lead singer. Gordon comes to the Yiddish repertoire honestly; her mother is Adrienne Cooper, who’s been described as “the premier female Yiddish vocalist and interpreter of Yiddish song.” Other band members are similarly fluent in Yiddish musical traditions. Michael Winograd, the band’s keyboard player, is well known as a clarinetist who has played with Frank London, the Klezmatics, and Socalled. Yoshie Fruchter, the band’s guitarist, also plays with Pitom, which has recorded an album on John Zorn’s Tzadik Records.
Vox Tablet’s Sara Ivry joins Gordon, Winograd, and Fruchter in Winograd’s bedroom-turned-studio to talk about their debut eponymous EP, out this week, and to play a little music on the fly.
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<p>The six-person band Yiddish Princess takes the sounds of ’80s rock—from the ethereal vocalizations of Kate Bush to the pounding drums and guitar riffs of Bon Jovi—and marries them with Yiddish songs. Some of the songs are Yiddish [...]Men of Mysteryhttp://www.tabletmag.com/podcasts/36004/men-of-mystery-2
http://www.tabletmag.com/podcasts/36004/men-of-mystery-2#commentsMon, 14 Jun 2010 11:00:59 +0000http://www.tabletmag.com/?p=36004Alan Furst’s bestselling spy novels depict the secret allegiances and betrayals that animated interwar and wartime Europe, but what distinguishes his work from others who’ve toiled in the genre is the attention he pays to the flavor of everyday life. Amid the forged documents and concealed identities, he still manages to conjure things like the […]

]]>Alan Furst’s bestselling spy novels depict the secret allegiances and betrayals that animated interwar and wartime Europe, but what distinguishes his work from others who’ve toiled in the genre is the attention he pays to the flavor of everyday life. Amid the forged documents and concealed identities, he still manages to conjure things like the meal a well-to-do couple traveling through the Belgian countryside might have eaten in1941: radishes, salted beef tongue, “some kind of white, waxy cheese,” dried winter apples, and a loaf of bread.

In Furst’s latest, Spies of the Balkans, he introduces us to Constantine “Costa” Zannis, a high-level Salonika detective who, somewhat inadvertently, becomes one link in a chain of operatives shepherding Jews out of Germany. Vox Tablet’s Sara Ivry speaks to Furst, in his home in Sag Harbor, Long Island, about how, in 1986, a Django Reinhardt cassette led him to the time and place he’s written about ever since; about his upbringing on Manhattan’s Upper West Side; and about his attraction to unattached, intellectual heroes.

]]>http://www.tabletmag.com/podcasts/36004/men-of-mystery-2/feed6Alan Furst’s bestselling spy novels depict the secret allegiances and betrayals that animated interwar and wartime Europe, but what distinguishes his work from others who’ve toiled in the genre is the attention he pays to the flavor of everyday life. Amid the forged documents and concealed identities, he still manages to conjure things like the meal a well-to-do couple traveling through the Belgian countryside might have eaten in1941: radishes, salted beef tongue, “some kind of white, waxy cheese,” dried winter apples, and a loaf of bread.
In Furst’s latest, Spies of the Balkans, he introduces us to Constantine “Costa” Zannis, a high-level Salonika detective who, somewhat inadvertently, becomes one link in a chain of operatives shepherding Jews out of Germany. Vox Tablet’s Sara Ivry speaks to Furst, in his home in Sag Harbor, Long Island, about how, in 1986, a Django Reinhardt cassette led him to the time and place he’s written about ever since; about his upbringing on Manhattan’s Upper West Side; and about his attraction to unattached, intellectual heroes.
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<p>Alan Furst’s bestselling spy novels depict the secret allegiances and betrayals that animated interwar and wartime Europe, but what distinguishes his work from others who’ve toiled in the genre is the attention he pays to the flavor of [...]Body Imagehttp://www.tabletmag.com/podcasts/35268/body-image-2
http://www.tabletmag.com/podcasts/35268/body-image-2#commentsMon, 07 Jun 2010 11:00:36 +0000http://www.tabletmag.com/?p=35268“Thou shalt not make graven images.” Thus reads the second commandment, which has been widely interpreted by Jews to mean that they are forbidden from depicting the human body. Yet, according to art historian Eliane Strosberg, during the 20th century Jewish artists in Europe and the United States defied that prohibition and almost exclusively painted […]

]]>“Thou shalt not make graven images.” Thus reads the second commandment, which has been widely interpreted by Jews to mean that they are forbidden from depicting the human body. Yet, according to art historian Eliane Strosberg, during the 20th century Jewish artists in Europe and the United States defied that prohibition and almost exclusively painted and sculpted likenesses of themselves and of people they knew. They did so even while non-Jewish peers were jumping into Cubism, Expressionism, Fauvism, and other avant-garde genres. In a new book, The Human Figure and Jewish Culture, Strosberg explores the reasons why these Jewish artists set themselves apart.

]]>http://www.tabletmag.com/podcasts/35268/body-image-2/feed5“Thou shalt not make graven images.” Thus reads the second commandment, which has been widely interpreted by Jews to mean that they are forbidden from depicting the human body. Yet, according to art historian Eliane Strosberg, during the 20th century Jewish artists in Europe and the United States defied that prohibition and almost exclusively painted and sculpted likenesses of themselves and of people they knew. They did so even while non-Jewish peers were jumping into Cubism, Expressionism, Fauvism, and other avant-garde genres. In a new book, The Human Figure and Jewish Culture, Strosberg explores the reasons why these Jewish artists set themselves apart.
Vox Tablet host Sara Ivry speaks with Strosberg about Chaim Soutine, Amedeo Modigliani, Lucien Freud, and others, about renderings of the body in ancient Jewish art, and about the mother as muse.
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<p>“Thou shalt not make graven images.” Thus reads the second commandment, which has been widely interpreted by Jews to mean that they are forbidden from depicting the human body. Yet, according to art historian Eliane Strosberg, during [...]No Debatehttp://www.tabletmag.com/podcasts/34158/no-debate
http://www.tabletmag.com/podcasts/34158/no-debate#commentsMon, 24 May 2010 11:00:36 +0000http://www.tabletmag.com/?p=34158In 2007, Ian Buruma profiled Tariq Ramadan, the high-profile European Muslim professor who’d been denied an entry visa to the United States the prior year, in The New York Times Magazine. Though some see Ramadan as a moderate voice in an increasingly radicalized European Islamic community, others see him as dangerous. Buruma offered a noncommittal […]

]]>In 2007, Ian Buruma profiledTariq Ramadan, the high-profile European Muslim professor who’d been denied an entry visa to the United States the prior year, in The New York Times Magazine. Though some see Ramadan as a moderate voice in an increasingly radicalized European Islamic community, others see him as dangerous. Buruma offered a noncommittal assessment, and that seeming insouciance infuriated the writer Paul Berman, who has been examining the liberal response to terrorism and the growth of political Islam for the past decade. In his new book, The Flight of the Intellectuals, he takes Buruma and other writers to task for insufficiently challenging Ramadan and, by failing to do so, becoming apologists for Muslim fundamentalists. (The Flight of the Intellectuals is reviewed in Tablet Magazine today by Christopher Hitchens.)

Berman spoke to Vox Tablet’s Sara Ivry about Ramadan’s family ties (his grandfather founded the Muslim Brotherhood), about the link between Islamism and fascism, and about whether the camps for and against Ramadan parallel the camps that either embrace Israel, flaws notwithstanding, or take every opportunity to criticize it.

]]>http://www.tabletmag.com/podcasts/34158/no-debate/feed16In 2007, Ian Buruma profiled Tariq Ramadan, the high-profile European Muslim professor who’d been denied an entry visa to the United States the prior year, in The New York Times Magazine. Though some see Ramadan as a moderate voice in an increasingly radicalized European Islamic community, others see him as dangerous. Buruma offered a noncommittal assessment, and that seeming insouciance infuriated the writer Paul Berman, who has been examining the liberal response to terrorism and the growth of political Islam for the past decade. In his new book, The Flight of the Intellectuals, he takes Buruma and other writers to task for insufficiently challenging Ramadan and, by failing to do so, becoming apologists for Muslim fundamentalists. (The Flight of the Intellectuals is reviewed in Tablet Magazine today by Christopher Hitchens.)
Berman spoke to Vox Tablet’s Sara Ivry about Ramadan’s family ties (his grandfather founded the Muslim Brotherhood), about the link between Islamism and fascism, and about whether the camps for and against Ramadan parallel the camps that either embrace Israel, flaws notwithstanding, or take every opportunity to criticize it.
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<p>In 2007, Ian Buruma profiled Tariq Ramadan, the high-profile European Muslim professor who’d been denied an entry visa to the United States the prior year, in The New York Times Magazine. Though some see Ramadan as a moderate voice in an [...]Light and Sweethttp://www.tabletmag.com/podcasts/33797/light-and-sweet-2
http://www.tabletmag.com/podcasts/33797/light-and-sweet-2#commentsTue, 18 May 2010 11:00:31 +0000http://www.tabletmag.com/?p=33797The holiday of Shavuot marks the giving of the law at Mount Sinai. To celebrate, people stay up all night studying. They also eat dairy foods—milk, blintzes, and cheesecake—although there seems to be little agreement as to why. Fred Schuster opened S&S Cheesecake in 1960; he now has help from his son-in-law, Yair Ben-Zaken. Together, […]

]]>The holiday of Shavuot marks the giving of the law at Mount Sinai. To celebrate, people stay up all night studying. They also eat dairy foods—milk, blintzes, and cheesecake—although there seems to be little agreement as to why.

Fred Schuster opened S&S Cheesecake in 1960; he now has help from his son-in-law, Yair Ben-Zaken. Together, they supply steakhouses and gourmet shops around the country—Dean & Deluca, Morton’s, Smith & Wollensky. Reporter Blake Eskin decided to make a pilgrimage, by subway, to their windowless one-story brick bakery at 238th Street in the Bronx, home to what many consider to be the best cheesecake in the country. Here’s his audio postcard, from our archive.

]]>http://www.tabletmag.com/podcasts/33797/light-and-sweet-2/feed24The holiday of Shavuot marks the giving of the law at Mount Sinai. To celebrate, people stay up all night studying. They also eat dairy foods—milk, blintzes, and cheesecake—although there seems to be little agreement as to why.
Fred Schuster opened S&S Cheesecake in 1960; he now has help from his son-in-law, Yair Ben-Zaken. Together, they supply steakhouses and gourmet shops around the country—Dean & Deluca, Morton’s, Smith & Wollensky. Reporter Blake Eskin decided to make a pilgrimage, by subway, to their windowless one-story brick bakery at 238th Street in the Bronx, home to what many consider to be the best cheesecake in the country. Here’s his audio postcard, from our archive.
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<p>The holiday of Shavuot marks the giving of the law at Mount Sinai. To celebrate, people stay up all night studying. They also eat dairy foods—milk, blintzes, and cheesecake—although there seems to be little agreement as to why. Fred [...]Song Cyclehttp://www.tabletmag.com/podcasts/33100/song-cycle
http://www.tabletmag.com/podcasts/33100/song-cycle#commentsMon, 10 May 2010 11:00:08 +0000http://www.tabletmag.com/?p=33100In May 1967, at the annual Israel Music Festival in Jerusalem, a song was born. Singing to a live and radio audience of millions, Shuli Natan debuted “Yerushalayim Shel Zahav,” or “Jerusalem of Gold.” With elegiac music and patriotic lyrics by Naomi Shemer (with a sentence or two borrowed from Yehuda Halevi), it immediately won […]

]]>In May 1967, at the annual Israel Music Festival in Jerusalem, a song was born. Singing to a live and radio audience of millions, Shuli Natan debuted “Yerushalayim Shel Zahav,” or “Jerusalem of Gold.” With elegiac music and patriotic lyrics by Naomi Shemer (with a sentence or two borrowed from Yehuda Halevi), it immediately won the hearts of many in the audience; three weeks later, after the Six-Day War and the unification of Jerusalem under Israeli rule, the song gained the status of a near-national anthem. On Jerusalem Day, celebrated this year on May 12, it’s inescapable. But the song has its detractors, and it comes with some surprising historical baggage. Tablet Magazine’s Liel Leibovitz tells the story.

]]>http://www.tabletmag.com/podcasts/33100/song-cycle/feed25In May 1967, at the annual Israel Music Festival in Jerusalem, a song was born. Singing to a live and radio audience of millions, Shuli Natan debuted “Yerushalayim Shel Zahav,” or “Jerusalem of Gold.” With elegiac music and patriotic lyrics by Naomi Shemer (with a sentence or two borrowed from Yehuda Halevi), it immediately won the hearts of many in the audience; three weeks later, after the Six-Day War and the unification of Jerusalem under Israeli rule, the song gained the status of a near-national anthem. On Jerusalem Day, celebrated this year on May 12, it’s inescapable. But the song has its detractors, and it comes with some surprising historical baggage. Tablet Magazine’s Liel Leibovitz tells the story.
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<p>In May 1967, at the annual Israel Music Festival in Jerusalem, a song was born. Singing to a live and radio audience of millions, Shuli Natan debuted “Yerushalayim Shel Zahav,” or “Jerusalem of Gold.” With elegiac music and [...]Arguablehttp://www.tabletmag.com/podcasts/31564/arguable
http://www.tabletmag.com/podcasts/31564/arguable#commentsMon, 26 Apr 2010 11:00:50 +0000http://www.tabletmag.com/?p=31564Growing up, Mark Oppenheimer was always itching for a fight. He didn’t want the kind involving jabs and hooks—rhetorical skill and quick wit were his weapons—but, even so, neither his peers nor the hands-on-activity-loving teachers at his progressive elementary schools shared his inclinations. Salvation came in middle school, when he discovered the world of competitive […]

]]>Growing up, Mark Oppenheimer was always itching for a fight. He didn’t want the kind involving jabs and hooks—rhetorical skill and quick wit were his weapons—but, even so, neither his peers nor the hands-on-activity-loving teachers at his progressive elementary schools shared his inclinations. Salvation came in middle school, when he discovered the world of competitive debate. There, verbal agility was rewarded, as Oppenheimer, a Tablet Magazine contributing editor, recounts in his new memoir, Wisenheimer: A Childhood Subject to Debate. He discussed how debate skills do and don’t contribute to journalistic endeavors, and what this all has to do with being Jewish, and his third-grade nemesis—a teacher named Lisa—with Vox Tablet host Sara Ivry.

]]>http://www.tabletmag.com/podcasts/31564/arguable/feed3Growing up, Mark Oppenheimer was always itching for a fight. He didn’t want the kind involving jabs and hooks—rhetorical skill and quick wit were his weapons—but, even so, neither his peers nor the hands-on-activity-loving teachers at his progressive elementary schools shared his inclinations. Salvation came in middle school, when he discovered the world of competitive debate. There, verbal agility was rewarded, as Oppenheimer, a Tablet Magazine contributing editor, recounts in his new memoir, Wisenheimer: A Childhood Subject to Debate. He discussed how debate skills do and don’t contribute to journalistic endeavors, and what this all has to do with being Jewish, and his third-grade nemesis—a teacher named Lisa—with Vox Tablet host Sara Ivry.
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<p>Growing up, Mark Oppenheimer was always itching for a fight. He didn’t want the kind involving jabs and hooks—rhetorical skill and quick wit were his weapons—but, even so, neither his peers nor the hands-on-activity-loving teachers [...]Survival Instincthttp://www.tabletmag.com/podcasts/31021/survival-instinct
http://www.tabletmag.com/podcasts/31021/survival-instinct#commentsMon, 19 Apr 2010 11:00:27 +0000http://www.tabletmag.com/?p=31021Eitan “Croc” Einoch is a thirtysomething, not terribly introspective Tel Aviv resident who suddenly finds himself lauded as a national hero after narrowly surviving three terrorist attacks within several days. Fahmi Sabih is a pensive twentysomething Palestinian in the West Bank who belongs to the terrorist cell responsible for the attacks. The two characters alternate […]

]]>Eitan “Croc” Einoch is a thirtysomething, not terribly introspective Tel Aviv resident who suddenly finds himself lauded as a national hero after narrowly surviving three terrorist attacks within several days. Fahmi Sabih is a pensive twentysomething Palestinian in the West Bank who belongs to the terrorist cell responsible for the attacks. The two characters alternate as narrators in Assaf Gavron’s new darkly comic novel, Almost Dead, his first book translated into English. Writing with humor and empathy, Gavron examines the Israeli-Palestinian conflict through the lens of these ordinary lives. He spoke with Vox Tablet host Sara Ivry about the Israeli response to Almost Dead, anxious commutes during the Second Intifada, and the pleasures and pains of translating Philip Roth, J. D. Salinger, and his own work. Gavron will be participating in the PEN World Voices Festival, and in book readings across the country, this month and next.

]]>http://www.tabletmag.com/podcasts/31021/survival-instinct/feed3Eitan “Croc” Einoch is a thirtysomething, not terribly introspective Tel Aviv resident who suddenly finds himself lauded as a national hero after narrowly surviving three terrorist attacks within several days. Fahmi Sabih is a pensive twentysomething Palestinian in the West Bank who belongs to the terrorist cell responsible for the attacks. The two characters alternate as narrators in Assaf Gavron’s new darkly comic novel, Almost Dead, his first book translated into English. Writing with humor and empathy, Gavron examines the Israeli-Palestinian conflict through the lens of these ordinary lives. He spoke with Vox Tablet host Sara Ivry about the Israeli response to Almost Dead, anxious commutes during the Second Intifada, and the pleasures and pains of translating Philip Roth, J. D. Salinger, and his own work. Gavron will be participating in the PEN World Voices Festival, and in book readings across the country, this month and next.
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<p>Eitan “Croc” Einoch is a thirtysomething, not terribly introspective Tel Aviv resident who suddenly finds himself lauded as a national hero after narrowly surviving three terrorist attacks within several days. Fahmi Sabih is a pensive [...]yesAnimal Planethttp://www.tabletmag.com/podcasts/30335/animal-planet-2
http://www.tabletmag.com/podcasts/30335/animal-planet-2#commentsMon, 12 Apr 2010 11:00:50 +0000http://www.tabletmag.com/?p=30335Yann Martel’s 2001 novel Life of Pi chronicled a young Indian man’s 227 days adrift at sea with a Bengal tiger. Part fable, part exploration of religion, ritual, and story-telling, it was a tremendous international success and earned Martel the prestigious Man Booker Prize. With his new novel, Beatrice and Virgil, Martel once again uses […]

]]>Yann Martel’s 2001 novel Life of Pi chronicled a young Indian man’s 227 days adrift at sea with a Bengal tiger. Part fable, part exploration of religion, ritual, and story-telling, it was a tremendous international success and earned Martel the prestigious Man Booker Prize. With his new novel, Beatrice and Virgil, Martel once again uses animals to tell his story. Ostensibly, the novel is about an acclaimed novelist who’s lost his calling and an aloof taxidermist who comes to him for literary advice. Within the novel is a play about a persecuted donkey, named Beatrice, and monkey, Virgil, whose circumstances come to look frighteningly similar to those of Europe’s Jews during the Holocaust. Both the novel and the play within the novel probe the difficulty of representing historical events that are all but unimaginable. Martel spoke by phone with Vox Tablet host Sara Ivry from a hotel in London, where he was on book tour, about the strengths and weaknesses of Holocaust literature as we know it, about the mixed messages of taxidermy, and about our over-identification with animals and under-identification with our own species.

]]>http://www.tabletmag.com/podcasts/30335/animal-planet-2/feed13Yann Martel’s 2001 novel Life of Pi chronicled a young Indian man’s 227 days adrift at sea with a Bengal tiger. Part fable, part exploration of religion, ritual, and story-telling, it was a tremendous international success and earned Martel the prestigious Man Booker Prize. With his new novel, Beatrice and Virgil, Martel once again uses animals to tell his story. Ostensibly, the novel is about an acclaimed novelist who’s lost his calling and an aloof taxidermist who comes to him for literary advice. Within the novel is a play about a persecuted donkey, named Beatrice, and monkey, Virgil, whose circumstances come to look frighteningly similar to those of Europe’s Jews during the Holocaust. Both the novel and the play within the novel probe the difficulty of representing historical events that are all but unimaginable. Martel spoke by phone with Vox Tablet host Sara Ivry from a hotel in London, where he was on book tour, about the strengths and weaknesses of Holocaust literature as we know it, about the mixed messages of taxidermy, and about our over-identification with animals and under-identification with our own species.
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<p>Yann Martel’s 2001 novel Life of Pi chronicled a young Indian man’s 227 days adrift at sea with a Bengal tiger. Part fable, part exploration of religion, ritual, and story-telling, it was a tremendous international success and earned [...]Art Markethttp://www.tabletmag.com/podcasts/29458/art-market
http://www.tabletmag.com/podcasts/29458/art-market#commentsMon, 29 Mar 2010 11:00:10 +0000http://www.tabletmag.com/?p=29458With his graphic-novel trilogy James Sturm’s America, comic-book artist James Sturm gained a devoted following for his skillful storytelling, sharp eye, and deft hand. The books examined 18th- and 19th-century America through the lens of religious revivalists, desperate gold miners, and a scrappy team of Jewish (and presumed to be Jewish) baseball players. Now, in […]

]]>With his graphic-novel trilogy James Sturm’s America, comic-book artist James Sturm gained a devoted following for his skillful storytelling, sharp eye, and deft hand. The books examined 18th- and 19th-century America through the lens of religious revivalists, desperate gold miners, and a scrappy team of Jewish (and presumed to be Jewish) baseball players. Now, in Market Day, Sturm imagines Jewish life in industrializing Europe, following 24 hours in the life of Mendelman, a highly skilled rug maker who confronts economic changes that might destroy his livelihood—and with it, the pleasure he takes in seeing the world through his craft. Influenced by Art Spiegelman and R. Crumb, among others, Sturm is not only a cartoonist but also the director and co-founder of the Center for Cartoon Studies in White River Junction, Vermont. He spoke to Vox Tablet host Sara Ivry about his introduction to shtetl life, his grim (or, he argues, not so grim) choice of subject matter, and his Center’s spiritual founder, Inky Solomon.

]]>http://www.tabletmag.com/podcasts/29458/art-market/feed3With his graphic-novel trilogy James Sturm’s America, comic-book artist James Sturm gained a devoted following for his skillful storytelling, sharp eye, and deft hand. The books examined 18th- and 19th-century America through the lens of religious revivalists, desperate gold miners, and a scrappy team of Jewish (and presumed to be Jewish) baseball players. Now, in Market Day, Sturm imagines Jewish life in industrializing Europe, following 24 hours in the life of Mendelman, a highly skilled rug maker who confronts economic changes that might destroy his livelihood—and with it, the pleasure he takes in seeing the world through his craft. Influenced by Art Spiegelman and R. Crumb, among others, Sturm is not only a cartoonist but also the director and co-founder of the Center for Cartoon Studies in White River Junction, Vermont. He spoke to Vox Tablet host Sara Ivry about his introduction to shtetl life, his grim (or, he argues, not so grim) choice of subject matter, and his Center’s spiritual founder, Inky Solomon.
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<p>With his graphic-novel trilogy James Sturm’s America, comic-book artist James Sturm gained a devoted following for his skillful storytelling, sharp eye, and deft hand. The books examined 18th- and 19th-century America through the lens of [...]Ask, Don’t Tellhttp://www.tabletmag.com/podcasts/28682/ask-dont-tell
http://www.tabletmag.com/podcasts/28682/ask-dont-tell#commentsMon, 22 Mar 2010 11:00:18 +0000http://www.tabletmag.com/?p=28682Tablet’s Gabriel Sanders decided it was time to teach his 21-month-old son the seder’s Four Questions, but, in looking back over the text, he found he has some questions of his own—about the seder’s structure, about similarities between the Mah Nishtanah and other children’s songs, and about just what it means to teach a child […]

]]>Tablet’s Gabriel Sanders decided it was time to teach his 21-month-old son the seder’s Four Questions, but, in looking back over the text, he found he has some questions of his own—about the seder’s structure, about similarities between the Mah Nishtanah and other children’s songs, and about just what it means to teach a child questions before he’s developed the power to ask.

]]>http://www.tabletmag.com/podcasts/28682/ask-dont-tell/feed6Tablet’s Gabriel Sanders decided it was time to teach his 21-month-old son the seder’s Four Questions, but, in looking back over the text, he found he has some questions of his own—about the seder’s structure, about similarities between the Mah Nishtanah and other children’s songs, and about just what it means to teach a child questions before he’s developed the power to ask.
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<p>Tablet’s Gabriel Sanders decided it was time to teach his 21-month-old son the seder’s Four Questions, but, in looking back over the text, he found he has some questions of his own—about the seder’s structure, about similarities [...]Day of Resthttp://www.tabletmag.com/podcasts/27950/and-on-the-seventh-day
http://www.tabletmag.com/podcasts/27950/and-on-the-seventh-day#commentsMon, 15 Mar 2010 12:00:27 +0000http://www.tabletmag.com/?p=27950Judith Shulevitz grew up in a house divided; mom observed Shabbat, and dad did not. She’s not the only one. What for some is a meaningful respite from the daily grind is, for others, an antiquated and oppressive ordeal. Indeed, the Sabbath has always raised questions and posed challenges for those who observe it, Jews […]

]]>Judith Shulevitz grew up in a house divided; mom observed Shabbat, and dad did not. She’s not the only one. What for some is a meaningful respite from the daily grind is, for others, an antiquated and oppressive ordeal. Indeed, the Sabbath has always raised questions and posed challenges for those who observe it, Jews and Christians alike. In her new book, The Sabbath World: Glimpses of a Different Order of Time, Shulevitz, a journalist and cultural critic who has been a columnist for the New York Times and Slate and is a contributing editor to Tablet Magazine, explores how the Sabbath has been understood over the course of millennia and how Sabbath observance affects social and familial relations, ethics, civic life, and individual well-being. Vox Tablet spoke with Shulevitz at her home in Manhattan about how the Sabbath has influenced her, her children, Jesus and his disciples, and Supreme Court justices, among others.

]]>http://www.tabletmag.com/podcasts/27950/and-on-the-seventh-day/feed12Judith Shulevitz grew up in a house divided; mom observed Shabbat, and dad did not. She’s not the only one. What for some is a meaningful respite from the daily grind is, for others, an antiquated and oppressive ordeal. Indeed, the Sabbath has always raised questions and posed challenges for those who observe it, Jews and Christians alike. In her new book, The Sabbath World: Glimpses of a Different Order of Time, Shulevitz, a journalist and cultural critic who has been a columnist for the New York Times and Slate and is a contributing editor to Tablet Magazine, explores how the Sabbath has been understood over the course of millennia and how Sabbath observance affects social and familial relations, ethics, civic life, and individual well-being. Vox Tablet spoke with Shulevitz at her home in Manhattan about how the Sabbath has influenced her, her children, Jesus and his disciples, and Supreme Court justices, among others.
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<p>Judith Shulevitz grew up in a house divided; mom observed Shabbat, and dad did not. She’s not the only one. What for some is a meaningful respite from the daily grind is, for others, an antiquated and oppressive ordeal. Indeed, the [...]Hearts and Mindshttp://www.tabletmag.com/podcasts/27212/hearts-and-minds
http://www.tabletmag.com/podcasts/27212/hearts-and-minds#commentsMon, 08 Mar 2010 12:00:24 +0000http://www.tabletmag.com/?p=27212The Chabad-Lubavitch Hasidic movement is known for its outreach among non-Orthodox Jews, encouraging them to become more religious. Chabadniks are posted to about 75 countries, where their efforts are generally met with curiosity, indifference, or, at worst, irritation. But in Ramat Aviv, an upscale, liberal, and famously secular neighborhood of Tel Aviv, the sect’s arrival […]

]]>The Chabad-Lubavitch Hasidic movement is known for its outreach among non-Orthodox Jews, encouraging them to become more religious. Chabadniks are posted to about 75 countries, where their efforts are generally met with curiosity, indifference, or, at worst, irritation. But in Ramat Aviv, an upscale, liberal, and famously secular neighborhood of Tel Aviv, the sect’s arrival has prompted a much stronger reaction: fury. Chabad’s presence in Ramat Aviv is growing, and secular residents—who in the fall formed a residents association to oppose the Chabad incursion—are convinced that the Hasidim are trying to brainwash their children and take over the neighborhood. Now, every Friday, the two camps face off outside schools and in other public spaces, where Chabad representatives approach passersby, mostly kids, and invite them to wrap tefillin and pray. The battle has caught the attention of the Israeli press, even prompting an angry column, accusing the secular residents of anti-Semitism, from one of the country’s best-known columnists, Gideon Levy. Tablet contributor Daniel Estrin filed a report on the growing conflict in Ramat Aviv.

]]>http://www.tabletmag.com/podcasts/27212/hearts-and-minds/feed59The Chabad-Lubavitch Hasidic movement is known for its outreach among non-Orthodox Jews, encouraging them to become more religious. Chabadniks are posted to about 75 countries, where their efforts are generally met with curiosity, indifference, or, at worst, irritation. But in Ramat Aviv, an upscale, liberal, and famously secular neighborhood of Tel Aviv, the sect’s arrival has prompted a much stronger reaction: fury. Chabad’s presence in Ramat Aviv is growing, and secular residents—who in the fall formed a residents association to oppose the Chabad incursion—are convinced that the Hasidim are trying to brainwash their children and take over the neighborhood. Now, every Friday, the two camps face off outside schools and in other public spaces, where Chabad representatives approach passersby, mostly kids, and invite them to wrap tefillin and pray. The battle has caught the attention of the Israeli press, even prompting an angry column, accusing the secular residents of anti-Semitism, from one of the country’s best-known columnists, Gideon Levy. Tablet contributor Daniel Estrin filed a report on the growing conflict in Ramat Aviv.
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<p>The Chabad-Lubavitch Hasidic movement is known for its outreach among non-Orthodox Jews, encouraging them to become more religious. Chabadniks are posted to about 75 countries, where their efforts are generally met with curiosity, [...]Man Out of Timehttp://www.tabletmag.com/podcasts/26723/man-out-of-time
http://www.tabletmag.com/podcasts/26723/man-out-of-time#commentsMon, 01 Mar 2010 12:00:51 +0000http://www.tabletmag.com/?p=26723Illustration by Paul Rogers Novelist Steve Stern wasn’t raised in a traditional Jewish home—indeed, he says, his childhood in Memphis was virtually devoid of “heritage.” But he has made up for that as an adult, delving deeply into Jewish history, fiction, liturgy, and mysticism in his work. All of that comes into play in The […]

Novelist Steve Stern wasn’t raised in a traditional Jewish home—indeed, he says, his childhood in Memphis was virtually devoid of “heritage.” But he has made up for that as an adult, delving deeply into Jewish history, fiction, liturgy, and mysticism in his work. All of that comes into play in The Frozen Rabbi, his ninth work of fiction, which Tablet Magazine begins serializing today. The story begins in the basement of one Bernie Karp, a pimply and spiritually bereft teen who, intent on pleasuring himself in the liver-aided manner of Alexander Portnoy, gets distracted when he discovers at the back of the meat freezer a 19th-century rabbi from the Pale of Settlement. From there, we are transported between the past and the present, along the way encountering shtetl kabbalists, Lodz peddlers, Lower East Side gangsters, New Age hucksters, and more. Stern spoke to Vox Tablet about Charles Dickens and Isaac Bashevis Singer, libel suits, and how he came to write this comic-tragic tale of modern European Jewry. The Frozen Rabbi will be published in May.

]]>http://www.tabletmag.com/podcasts/26723/man-out-of-time/feed5
Illustration by Paul Rogers
Novelist Steve Stern wasn’t raised in a traditional Jewish home—indeed, he says, his childhood in Memphis was virtually devoid of “heritage.” But he has made up for that as an adult, delving deeply into Jewish history, fiction, liturgy, and mysticism in his work. All of that comes into play in The Frozen Rabbi, his ninth work of fiction, which Tablet Magazine begins serializing today. The story begins in the basement of one Bernie Karp, a pimply and spiritually bereft teen who, intent on pleasuring himself in the liver-aided manner of Alexander Portnoy, gets distracted when he discovers at the back of the meat freezer a 19th-century rabbi from the Pale of Settlement. From there, we are transported between the past and the present, along the way encountering shtetl kabbalists, Lodz peddlers, Lower East Side gangsters, New Age hucksters, and more. Stern spoke to Vox Tablet about Charles Dickens and Isaac Bashevis Singer, libel suits, and how he came to write this comic-tragic tale of modern European Jewry. The Frozen Rabbi will be published in May.
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<p>Illustration by Paul Rogers Novelist Steve Stern wasn’t raised in a traditional Jewish home—indeed, he says, his childhood in Memphis was virtually devoid of “heritage.” But he has made up for that as an adult, delving deeply into [...]Fugging Aroundhttp://www.tabletmag.com/podcasts/26071/fugging-around
http://www.tabletmag.com/podcasts/26071/fugging-around#commentsMon, 22 Feb 2010 12:00:33 +0000http://www.tabletmag.com/?p=26071In 1965, two beat poets on New York’s Lower East Side, Tuli Kupferberg and Ed Sanders, put together a band called the Fugs. (The name is a euphemism that means what it sounds like and was borrowed from Norman Mailer’s novel The Naked and the Dead.) The Fugs have been recording and performing irreverent rants […]

]]>In 1965, two beat poets on New York’s Lower East Side, Tuli Kupferberg and Ed Sanders, put together a band called the Fugs. (The name is a euphemism that means what it sounds like and was borrowed from Norman Mailer’s novel The Naked and the Dead.) The Fugs have been recording and performing irreverent rants about sex, drugs, and war since then, often with Kupferberg delivering deadpan lyrics in what the New York Times recently described as his “rabbinical monotone.” The group’s latest album, Be Free, comes out this week, though Kupferberg has been confined to his home since the fall, after two strokes left him virtually blind. He continues to make himself heard by way of daily dispatches, which he calls “perverbs,” posted on YouTube. He doesn’t consider himself religious, but his songs, poems, and missives are steeped in the Yiddish culture he grew up in. Reporter Jon Kalish profiled the performer—who, be warned, uses some explicit language. [Running time: 11:25.]

]]>http://www.tabletmag.com/podcasts/26071/fugging-around/feed21In 1965, two beat poets on New York’s Lower East Side, Tuli Kupferberg and Ed Sanders, put together a band called the Fugs. (The name is a euphemism that means what it sounds like and was borrowed from Norman Mailer’s novel The Naked and the Dead.) The Fugs have been recording and performing irreverent rants about sex, drugs, and war since then, often with Kupferberg delivering deadpan lyrics in what the New York Times recently described as his “rabbinical monotone.” The group’s latest album, Be Free, comes out this week, though Kupferberg has been confined to his home since the fall, after two strokes left him virtually blind. He continues to make himself heard by way of daily dispatches, which he calls “perverbs,” posted on YouTube. He doesn’t consider himself religious, but his songs, poems, and missives are steeped in the Yiddish culture he grew up in. Reporter Jon Kalish profiled the performer—who, be warned, uses some explicit language. [Running time: 11:25.]
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<p>In 1965, two beat poets on New York’s Lower East Side, Tuli Kupferberg and Ed Sanders, put together a band called the Fugs. (The name is a euphemism that means what it sounds like and was borrowed from Norman Mailer’s novel The Naked [...]yesLife of a Poethttp://www.tabletmag.com/podcasts/25659/life-of-a-poet
http://www.tabletmag.com/podcasts/25659/life-of-a-poet#commentsMon, 15 Feb 2010 12:00:43 +0000http://www.tabletmag.com/?p=25659Yehuda Halevi was, some say, the greatest Hebrew-language poet who ever lived. Also a physician and philosopher, he had the good fortune of living in a time and place—Andalusia, in southern Spain, in the 11th and 12th centuries—where the ability to write verse well was highly valued, and where there existed a culture of lively, […]

]]>Yehuda Halevi was, some say, the greatest Hebrew-language poet who ever lived. Also a physician and philosopher, he had the good fortune of living in a time and place—Andalusia, in southern Spain, in the 11th and 12th centuries—where the ability to write verse well was highly valued, and where there existed a culture of lively, if not always peaceful, exchange among Muslims, Jews, and Christians. In a new Nextbook Press biography, Hillel Halkin chronicles the life and work of Halevi, including his spiritual yearnings, which would ultimately lead him to make aliyah at a time when such a journey was all but unheard of. Vox Tablet host Sara Ivry spoke by phone to Halkin, who lives north of Tel Aviv, about Halevi’s ability to knock off a few lively verses in exchange for a jug of wine, about the tenuous nature of La Convivencia, “The Coexistence,” and about how he and Halevi found similar resolutions to midlife crises about what it means to be a Jew.

]]>http://www.tabletmag.com/podcasts/25659/life-of-a-poet/feed3Yehuda Halevi was, some say, the greatest Hebrew-language poet who ever lived. Also a physician and philosopher, he had the good fortune of living in a time and place—Andalusia, in southern Spain, in the 11th and 12th centuries—where the ability to write verse well was highly valued, and where there existed a culture of lively, if not always peaceful, exchange among Muslims, Jews, and Christians. In a new Nextbook Press biography, Hillel Halkin chronicles the life and work of Halevi, including his spiritual yearnings, which would ultimately lead him to make aliyah at a time when such a journey was all but unheard of. Vox Tablet host Sara Ivry spoke by phone to Halkin, who lives north of Tel Aviv, about Halevi’s ability to knock off a few lively verses in exchange for a jug of wine, about the tenuous nature of La Convivencia, “The Coexistence,” and about how he and Halevi found similar resolutions to midlife crises about what it means to be a Jew.
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<p>Yehuda Halevi was, some say, the greatest Hebrew-language poet who ever lived. Also a physician and philosopher, he had the good fortune of living in a time and place—Andalusia, in southern Spain, in the 11th and 12th centuries—where [...]French Connectionshttp://www.tabletmag.com/podcasts/25415/french-connections
http://www.tabletmag.com/podcasts/25415/french-connections#commentsWed, 10 Feb 2010 12:00:43 +0000http://www.tabletmag.com/?p=25415The 19th arrondissement of Paris, on the city’s northern edge, is home to large populations of Sephardic Jews, Muslim immigrants from Africa, and a growing Lubavitch community. It has been known as a hub of anti-Semitic violence, but, surprisingly, it’s been calmer lately, even as anti-Semitic attacks have spiked in France, and throughout Western Europe, […]

]]>The 19th arrondissement of Paris, on the city’s northern edge, is home to large populations of Sephardic Jews, Muslim immigrants from Africa, and a growing Lubavitch community. It has been known as a hub of anti-Semitic violence, but, surprisingly, it’s been calmer lately, even as anti-Semitic attacks have spiked in France, and throughout Western Europe, in the past year. Credit for the relative tranquility goes to clergy on all sides, who’ve worked with their communities to keep tensions from rising. Reporter Léa Khayata visited the area; her dispatch will appear on Tablet tomorrow. First, she spoke to Vox Tablet host Sara Ivry about the recent efforts to build bridges in the 19th arrondissement.

]]>http://www.tabletmag.com/podcasts/25415/french-connections/feed4The 19th arrondissement of Paris, on the city’s northern edge, is home to large populations of Sephardic Jews, Muslim immigrants from Africa, and a growing Lubavitch community. It has been known as a hub of anti-Semitic violence, but, surprisingly, it’s been calmer lately, even as anti-Semitic attacks have spiked in France, and throughout Western Europe, in the past year. Credit for the relative tranquility goes to clergy on all sides, who’ve worked with their communities to keep tensions from rising. Reporter Léa Khayata visited the area; her dispatch will appear on Tablet tomorrow. First, she spoke to Vox Tablet host Sara Ivry about the recent efforts to build bridges in the 19th arrondissement.
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<p>The 19th arrondissement of Paris, on the city’s northern edge, is home to large populations of Sephardic Jews, Muslim immigrants from Africa, and a growing Lubavitch community. It has been known as a hub of anti-Semitic violence, but, [...]Still Liveshttp://www.tabletmag.com/podcasts/24659/still-lives
http://www.tabletmag.com/podcasts/24659/still-lives#commentsMon, 01 Feb 2010 12:00:41 +0000http://www.tabletmag.com/?p=24659In 1914, a Russian Jew writing under the name S. An-sky wrote a play called The Dybbuk. It concerns a young bride-to-be possessed by the spirit of her former lover, and it would go on to become one of the most popular plays in the Jewish- and Yiddish-theater repertoire. But An-sky’s pre-Dybbuk work might be […]

]]>In 1914, a Russian Jew writing under the name S. An-sky wrote a play called The Dybbuk. It concerns a young bride-to-be possessed by the spirit of her former lover, and it would go on to become one of the most popular plays in the Jewish- and Yiddish-theater repertoire. But An-sky’s pre-Dybbuk work might be his most valuable contribution to Jewish culture: from 1912 to 1914, the playwright led ethnographic expeditions throughout Russia’s Pale of Settlement, collecting Jewish folk tales, rituals, music, and other artifacts of daily and religious life. An-sky’s research has been an invaluable resource to students of Jewish history and culture. Now, a new body of material from those expeditions has come to light: approximately 350 photographs, comprising perhaps the most comprehensive visual record available of these small towns and the people who inhabited them. The photos are remarkable not only for the wealth of detail they offer about a way of life in transition, but also for the immediacy of the subjects themselves.

A collection of nearly 200 of these newly discovered photos is now available in a volume titled Photographing the Jewish Nation: Pictures from S. An-sky’s Ethnographic Expeditions. Vox Tablet spoke to two of the book’s editors, Eugene Avrutin and Harriet Murav, both professors at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, about the importance of this collection for anyone interested in shtetl life in the Russian Empire. A gallery of photos from the book appears below.

]]>http://www.tabletmag.com/podcasts/24659/still-lives/feed12In 1914, a Russian Jew writing under the name S. An-sky wrote a play called The Dybbuk. It concerns a young bride-to-be possessed by the spirit of her former lover, and it would go on to become one of the most popular plays in the Jewish- and Yiddish-theater repertoire. But An-sky’s pre-Dybbuk work might be his most valuable contribution to Jewish culture: from 1912 to 1914, the playwright led ethnographic expeditions throughout Russia’s Pale of Settlement, collecting Jewish folk tales, rituals, music, and other artifacts of daily and religious life. An-sky’s research has been an invaluable resource to students of Jewish history and culture. Now, a new body of material from those expeditions has come to light: approximately 350 photographs, comprising perhaps the most comprehensive visual record available of these small towns and the people who inhabited them. The photos are remarkable not only for the wealth of detail they offer about a way of life in transition, but also for the immediacy of the subjects themselves.
A collection of nearly 200 of these newly discovered photos is now available in a volume titled Photographing the Jewish Nation: Pictures from S. An-sky’s Ethnographic Expeditions. Vox Tablet spoke to two of the book’s editors, Eugene Avrutin and Harriet Murav, both professors at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, about the importance of this collection for anyone interested in shtetl life in the Russian Empire. A gallery of photos from the book appears below.
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<p>In 1914, a Russian Jew writing under the name S. An-sky wrote a play called The Dybbuk. It concerns a young bride-to-be possessed by the spirit of her former lover, and it would go on to become one of the most popular plays in the Jewish- [...]Beyond Goulashhttp://www.tabletmag.com/podcasts/24164/beyond-goulash
http://www.tabletmag.com/podcasts/24164/beyond-goulash#commentsMon, 25 Jan 2010 12:00:05 +0000http://www.tabletmag.com/?p=24164Jews have lived in what today is Hungary since the 11th century, and despite the devastation of World War II and discrimination under Communism, Hungary is home to the largest Jewish community between Paris and Moscow. Today, roughly 80,000 Jews live in Budapest alone. Over the years, Jewish culture has woven itself deeply into Hungarian […]

]]>Jews have lived in what today is Hungary since the 11th century, and despite the devastation of World War II and discrimination under Communism, Hungary is home to the largest Jewish community between Paris and Moscow. Today, roughly 80,000 Jews live in Budapest alone. Over the years, Jewish culture has woven itself deeply into Hungarian life, particularly in the kitchen, where many dishes that are typically thought of as Hungarian actually have Jewish origins. London-based reporter Hugh Levinson took a culinary tour of Budapest with Bob Cohen, an American ethnomusicologist who has lived there for more than 20 years. Cohen writes a foodie blog, plays fiddle in his band, “Di Naye Kapelye,” and is an expert on the tastes and tales of the local cuisine. Their first stop was Kádár, a tiny, legendary restaurant in the heart of the old Jewish district.

]]>http://www.tabletmag.com/podcasts/24164/beyond-goulash/feed6Jews have lived in what today is Hungary since the 11th century, and despite the devastation of World War II and discrimination under Communism, Hungary is home to the largest Jewish community between Paris and Moscow. Today, roughly 80,000 Jews live in Budapest alone. Over the years, Jewish culture has woven itself deeply into Hungarian life, particularly in the kitchen, where many dishes that are typically thought of as Hungarian actually have Jewish origins. London-based reporter Hugh Levinson took a culinary tour of Budapest with Bob Cohen, an American ethnomusicologist who has lived there for more than 20 years. Cohen writes a foodie blog, plays fiddle in his band, “Di Naye Kapelye,” and is an expert on the tastes and tales of the local cuisine. Their first stop was Kádár, a tiny, legendary restaurant in the heart of the old Jewish district.
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<p>Jews have lived in what today is Hungary since the 11th century, and despite the devastation of World War II and discrimination under Communism, Hungary is home to the largest Jewish community between Paris and Moscow. Today, roughly [...]Talking Shophttp://www.tabletmag.com/podcasts/23268/talking-shop
http://www.tabletmag.com/podcasts/23268/talking-shop#commentsMon, 11 Jan 2010 12:00:57 +0000http://www.tabletmag.com/?p=23268Daniel Menaker is a good talker. He has to be; the former New Yorker fiction editor and Random House executive editor-in-chief has long been highly sought for schmoozing opportunities of all sorts. In a freewheeling new book, A Good Talk: The Story and Skill of Conversation, Menaker writes about both why he believes conversation matters […]

]]>Daniel Menaker is a good talker. He has to be; the former New Yorker fiction editor and Random House executive editor-in-chief has long been highly sought for schmoozing opportunities of all sorts. In a freewheeling new book, A Good Talk: The Story and Skill of Conversation, Menaker writes about both why he believes conversation matters and the elements that make for a good conversationalist. (Curiosity, humor, and impudence, he says, are key.) For Vox Tablet, we asked him to have a chat with Joshua Halberstam, a philosopher and the author of Schmoozing, about private conversations among American Jews. It was Menaker and Halberstam’s first meeting, but it turned out they had a lot to say to each other, on topics ranging from ultra-Orthodox demographics to logical positivism.

]]>http://www.tabletmag.com/podcasts/23268/talking-shop/feed2Daniel Menaker is a good talker. He has to be; the former New Yorker fiction editor and Random House executive editor-in-chief has long been highly sought for schmoozing opportunities of all sorts. In a freewheeling new book, A Good Talk: The Story and Skill of Conversation, Menaker writes about both why he believes conversation matters and the elements that make for a good conversationalist. (Curiosity, humor, and impudence, he says, are key.) For Vox Tablet, we asked him to have a chat with Joshua Halberstam, a philosopher and the author of Schmoozing, about private conversations among American Jews. It was Menaker and Halberstam’s first meeting, but it turned out they had a lot to say to each other, on topics ranging from ultra-Orthodox demographics to logical positivism.
Your browser does not support the audio element.
<p>Daniel Menaker is a good talker. He has to be; the former New Yorker fiction editor and Random House executive editor-in-chief has long been highly sought for schmoozing opportunities of all sorts. In a freewheeling new book, A Good Talk: [...]Free Thinkershttp://www.tabletmag.com/podcasts/22852/free-thinkers
http://www.tabletmag.com/podcasts/22852/free-thinkers#commentsMon, 04 Jan 2010 12:00:08 +0000http://www.tabletmag.com/?p=22852The French Revolution is not generally considered a key moment in Jewish history. But in his new book, Emancipation: How Liberating Europe’s Jews from the Ghetto Led to Revolution and Renaissance, Michael Goldfarb argues that the period that began with the Revolution and Jews’ consequent enfranchisement and ended nearly two centuries later with the Holocaust […]

]]>The French Revolution is not generally considered a key moment in Jewish history. But in his new book, Emancipation: How Liberating Europe’s Jews from the Ghetto Led to Revolution and Renaissance, Michael Goldfarb argues that the period that began with the Revolution and Jews’ consequent enfranchisement and ended nearly two centuries later with the Holocaust was marked by astonishing contributions by Jews to Western culture—in philosophy, industry, politics, literature, music, and the sciences. Newly liberated Jews were in a unique position to challenge received wisdom in all areas, after experiencing such radical changes in their own way of life. But their integration into European society also came at the expense of religious and cultural identity.

Goldfarb, former London bureau chief for National Public Radio and now an independent journalist living in London, speaks to Vox Tablet host Sara Ivry about signifcant moments and personalities of that period, from philosopher Moses Mendelssohn, who left his Talmud studies in the Dessau ghetto to become what some referred to as “Germany’s Plato,” to the Rothschild dynasty and its antithesis, Karl Marx.

]]>http://www.tabletmag.com/podcasts/22852/free-thinkers/feed4The French Revolution is not generally considered a key moment in Jewish history. But in his new book, Emancipation: How Liberating Europe’s Jews from the Ghetto Led to Revolution and Renaissance, Michael Goldfarb argues that the period that began with the Revolution and Jews’ consequent enfranchisement and ended nearly two centuries later with the Holocaust was marked by astonishing contributions by Jews to Western culture—in philosophy, industry, politics, literature, music, and the sciences. Newly liberated Jews were in a unique position to challenge received wisdom in all areas, after experiencing such radical changes in their own way of life. But their integration into European society also came at the expense of religious and cultural identity.
Goldfarb, former London bureau chief for National Public Radio and now an independent journalist living in London, speaks to Vox Tablet host Sara Ivry about signifcant moments and personalities of that period, from philosopher Moses Mendelssohn, who left his Talmud studies in the Dessau ghetto to become what some referred to as “Germany’s Plato,” to the Rothschild dynasty and its antithesis, Karl Marx.
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<p>The French Revolution is not generally considered a key moment in Jewish history. But in his new book, Emancipation: How Liberating Europe’s Jews from the Ghetto Led to Revolution and Renaissance, Michael Goldfarb argues that the [...]Family Singalonghttp://www.tabletmag.com/podcasts/22629/family-singalong
http://www.tabletmag.com/podcasts/22629/family-singalong#commentsMon, 21 Dec 2009 12:00:45 +0000http://www.tabletmag.com/?p=22629Children’s music has become much more interesting in the past decade. Now there are world-music lullaby collections, educational albums put out by indie rockers, and classical music repurposed for kids. What about Jewish children’s music, has it kept up with the trend? Tablet Magazine parenting columnist Marjorie Ingall assesses releases from 2009, measuring success by […]

]]>Children’s music has become much more interesting in the past decade. Now there are world-music lullaby collections, educational albums put out by indie rockers, and classical music repurposed for kids. What about Jewish children’s music, has it kept up with the trend? Tablet Magazine parenting columnist Marjorie Ingall assesses releases from 2009, measuring success by how long the album would be tolerated on a family road trip.

]]>http://www.tabletmag.com/podcasts/22629/family-singalong/feed7Children’s music has become much more interesting in the past decade. Now there are world-music lullaby collections, educational albums put out by indie rockers, and classical music repurposed for kids. What about Jewish children’s music, has it kept up with the trend? Tablet Magazine parenting columnist Marjorie Ingall assesses releases from 2009, measuring success by how long the album would be tolerated on a family road trip.
Your browser does not support the audio element.
<p>Children’s music has become much more interesting in the past decade. Now there are world-music lullaby collections, educational albums put out by indie rockers, and classical music repurposed for kids. What about Jewish children’s [...]Hanukkah Alegre!http://www.tabletmag.com/podcasts/21962/hanukkah-alegre
http://www.tabletmag.com/podcasts/21962/hanukkah-alegre#commentsMon, 14 Dec 2009 12:00:29 +0000http://www.tabletmag.com/?p=21962In 2001, Sarajevo-born folk singer Flory Jagoda invited roughly a dozen other Sephardim in the Washington, D.C., area to join her for conversation over burekas and bumuelos (fritters, or doughnuts). More specifically, she invited them for conversation in Judeo-Spanish, also known as Ladino, the language spoken by Jews in medieval Spain and later in the […]

]]>In 2001, Sarajevo-born folk singer Flory Jagoda invited roughly a dozen other Sephardim in the Washington, D.C., area to join her for conversation over burekas and bumuelos (fritters, or doughnuts). More specifically, she invited them for conversation in Judeo-Spanish, also known as Ladino, the language spoken by Jews in medieval Spain and later in the far-flung lands to which they fled after the expulsion in 1492. Today, the language is all but forgotten, except by those like Jagoda who spoke it growing up.

The group has grown to include more than 20 participants. At their monthly meetings—which members call vijitas de al’had, or “Sunday visits,” after a centuries-old tradition from the Old Country— the men and women eat Sephardic treats, sing songs, and study a Judeo-Spanish reading exercise, complete with vocabulary lists. Vox Tablet’s Julie Subrin recorded their annual Hanukkah gathering last December. David Tarica took the photographs.

]]>http://www.tabletmag.com/podcasts/21962/hanukkah-alegre/feed22In 2001, Sarajevo-born folk singer Flory Jagoda invited roughly a dozen other Sephardim in the Washington, D.C., area to join her for conversation over burekas and bumuelos (fritters, or doughnuts). More specifically, she invited them for conversation in Judeo-Spanish, also known as Ladino, the language spoken by Jews in medieval Spain and later in the far-flung lands to which they fled after the expulsion in 1492. Today, the language is all but forgotten, except by those like Jagoda who spoke it growing up.
The group has grown to include more than 20 participants. At their monthly meetings—which members call vijitas de al’had, or “Sunday visits,” after a centuries-old tradition from the Old Country— the men and women eat Sephardic treats, sing songs, and study a Judeo-Spanish reading exercise, complete with vocabulary lists. Vox Tablet’s Julie Subrin recorded their annual Hanukkah gathering last December. David Tarica took the photographs.
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<p>In 2001, Sarajevo-born folk singer Flory Jagoda invited roughly a dozen other Sephardim in the Washington, D.C., area to join her for conversation over burekas and bumuelos (fritters, or doughnuts). More specifically, she invited them for [...]Eight Days of Hanukkahhttp://www.tabletmag.com/podcasts/21849/eight-days-of-hanukkah-2
http://www.tabletmag.com/podcasts/21849/eight-days-of-hanukkah-2#commentsWed, 09 Dec 2009 00:00:36 +0000http://www.tabletmag.com/?p=21849A Hanukkah gift from us to you: “Eight days of Hanukkah,” with lyrics by Sen. Orrin Hatch and music by Madeline Stone, sung by Rasheeda Azar. Don’t miss the video here. Chag sameach! Your browser does not support the audio element.

]]>http://www.tabletmag.com/podcasts/21849/eight-days-of-hanukkah-2/feed6A Hanukkah gift from us to you: “Eight days of Hanukkah,” with lyrics by Sen. Orrin Hatch and music by Madeline Stone, sung by Rasheeda Azar. Don’t miss the video here. Chag sameach!
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<p>A Hanukkah gift from us to you: “Eight days of Hanukkah,” with lyrics by Sen. Orrin Hatch and music by Madeline Stone, sung by Rasheeda Azar. Don’t miss the video here. Chag sameach! Your browser does not support the audio [...]Being Jewishhttp://www.tabletmag.com/podcasts/21276/being-jewish
http://www.tabletmag.com/podcasts/21276/being-jewish#commentsMon, 30 Nov 2009 12:00:00 +0000http://www.tabletmag.com/?p=21276Hadeish Yameinu by David Gelernter David Gelernter, a prominent victim of the Unabomber, is a Yale computer science professor who is also fluent in the history and practice of Judaism. An observant Jew, Gelernter just published Judaism: A Way of Being (Yale University Press). Partly an exploration of the religion’s core themes and partly a […]

David Gelernter, a prominent victim of the Unabomber, is a Yale computer science professor who is also fluent in the history and practice of Judaism. An observant Jew, Gelernter just published Judaism: A Way of Being (Yale University Press). Partly an exploration of the religion’s core themes and partly a defense of adherence to its commandments, the book is also an impassioned and provocative plea for Jews to recognize their religion’s unique relationship to God and to Western civilization. Gelernter spoke to Vox Tablet host Sara Ivry about the importance of separation to Jewish life, about Jewish superiority, and about why Conservative and Reform Judaism appear doomed to failure.

]]>http://www.tabletmag.com/podcasts/21276/being-jewish/feed13
Hadeish Yameinu by David Gelernter
David Gelernter, a prominent victim of the Unabomber, is a Yale computer science professor who is also fluent in the history and practice of Judaism. An observant Jew, Gelernter just published Judaism: A Way of Being (Yale University Press). Partly an exploration of the religion’s core themes and partly a defense of adherence to its commandments, the book is also an impassioned and provocative plea for Jews to recognize their religion’s unique relationship to God and to Western civilization. Gelernter spoke to Vox Tablet host Sara Ivry about the importance of separation to Jewish life, about Jewish superiority, and about why Conservative and Reform Judaism appear doomed to failure.
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<p>Hadeish Yameinu by David Gelernter David Gelernter, a prominent victim of the Unabomber, is a Yale computer science professor who is also fluent in the history and practice of Judaism. An observant Jew, Gelernter just published Judaism: A [...]The Negotiatorhttp://www.tabletmag.com/podcasts/20945/the-negotiator
http://www.tabletmag.com/podcasts/20945/the-negotiator#commentsMon, 23 Nov 2009 12:00:15 +0000http://www.tabletmag.com/?p=20945Psychologist Stephen P. Cohen has made his career as what he calls a “citizen diplomat.” He runs the Institute for Middle East Peace and Development, which he founded, and he’s been working for 40 years to try to help resolve the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, participating in secret negotiations that have included Israel’s Shimon Peres and Moshe […]

]]>Psychologist Stephen P. Cohen has made his career as what he calls a “citizen diplomat.” He runs the Institute for Middle East Peace and Development, which he founded, and he’s been working for 40 years to try to help resolve the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, participating in secret negotiations that have included Israel’s Shimon Peres and Moshe Dayan, Egypt’s Anwar Sadat, Jordan’s King Hussein, and senior leaders of the PLO and Hamas. In his new book, Beyond America’s Grasp: A Century of Failed Diplomacy in the Middle East, Cohen discusses the Arab world’s mistrust of the United States which began with Woodrow Wilson and which Barack Obama has endeavored, as witnessed by his speech in Cairo last June, to repair. He spoke with Vox Tablet host Sara Ivry about that enormous challenge, about the role of the Jewish-American and Arab-American communities in the peace process, and about the need to reconceptualize the Israeli-Palestinian conflict as one in which there are no victors.

]]>http://www.tabletmag.com/podcasts/20945/the-negotiator/feed2Psychologist Stephen P. Cohen has made his career as what he calls a “citizen diplomat.” He runs the Institute for Middle East Peace and Development, which he founded, and he’s been working for 40 years to try to help resolve the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, participating in secret negotiations that have included Israel’s Shimon Peres and Moshe Dayan, Egypt’s Anwar Sadat, Jordan’s King Hussein, and senior leaders of the PLO and Hamas. In his new book, Beyond America’s Grasp: A Century of Failed Diplomacy in the Middle East, Cohen discusses the Arab world’s mistrust of the United States which began with Woodrow Wilson and which Barack Obama has endeavored, as witnessed by his speech in Cairo last June, to repair. He spoke with Vox Tablet host Sara Ivry about that enormous challenge, about the role of the Jewish-American and Arab-American communities in the peace process, and about the need to reconceptualize the Israeli-Palestinian conflict as one in which there are no victors.
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<p>Psychologist Stephen P. Cohen has made his career as what he calls a “citizen diplomat.” He runs the Institute for Middle East Peace and Development, which he founded, and he’s been working for 40 years to try to help resolve the [...]Home Away From Homehttp://www.tabletmag.com/podcasts/20357/home-away-from-home
http://www.tabletmag.com/podcasts/20357/home-away-from-home#commentsThu, 12 Nov 2009 12:00:11 +0000http://www.tabletmag.com/?p=20357When New York Times reporter Andrew Jacobs heard that the Four Seasons Lodge, a Catskills bungalow colony he’d featured in a 2005 article, was slated to close after one more summer season, he was heartbroken. For more than a quarter-century, the colony had served as a gathering place for some 50 lodgers, virtually all of […]

]]>When New York Times reporter Andrew Jacobs heard that the Four Seasons Lodge, a Catskills bungalow colony he’d featured in a 2005 article, was slated to close after one more summer season, he was heartbroken. For more than a quarter-century, the colony had served as a gathering place for some 50 lodgers, virtually all of them Holocaust survivors now in their 80s and 90s. Together, they’d danced, caroused, played cards, prepared communal brunches, sunbathed, and shared memories good and bad. Jacobs decided the place, and its residents, needed to be documented before it was too late, and so he enlisted the help of cinematographer Albert Maysles and others to make a film.

Opening in New York City this week, the resulting documentary, Four Seasons Lodge, chronicles the day to day rhythms and occasional dramas that unfold over the course of a summer, and includes the reminiscinces of those who chose to share their wartime memories. Jacobs speaks with Vox Tablet host Sara Ivry about the making of the film, a few of his favorite characters, and what got left on the cutting room floor.

]]>http://www.tabletmag.com/podcasts/20357/home-away-from-home/feed2When New York Times reporter Andrew Jacobs heard that the Four Seasons Lodge, a Catskills bungalow colony he’d featured in a 2005 article, was slated to close after one more summer season, he was heartbroken. For more than a quarter-century, the colony had served as a gathering place for some 50 lodgers, virtually all of them Holocaust survivors now in their 80s and 90s. Together, they’d danced, caroused, played cards, prepared communal brunches, sunbathed, and shared memories good and bad. Jacobs decided the place, and its residents, needed to be documented before it was too late, and so he enlisted the help of cinematographer Albert Maysles and others to make a film.
Opening in New York City this week, the resulting documentary, Four Seasons Lodge, chronicles the day to day rhythms and occasional dramas that unfold over the course of a summer, and includes the reminiscinces of those who chose to share their wartime memories. Jacobs speaks with Vox Tablet host Sara Ivry about the making of the film, a few of his favorite characters, and what got left on the cutting room floor.
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<p>When New York Times reporter Andrew Jacobs heard that the Four Seasons Lodge, a Catskills bungalow colony he’d featured in a 2005 article, was slated to close after one more summer season, he was heartbroken. For more than a [...]Woman of Mysteryhttp://www.tabletmag.com/podcasts/18829/woman-of-mystery
http://www.tabletmag.com/podcasts/18829/woman-of-mystery#commentsWed, 28 Oct 2009 11:00:06 +0000http://www.tabletmag.com/?p=18829Long before the late Brazilian novelist Clarice Lispector became a beloved literary figure there, she was Chaya, the third and last daughter born to a poor family in a Ukrainian shtetl. Her journey from Eastern Europe to South America and from indigent refugee child to celebrated, eccentric author—with a stint along the way as a […]

]]>Long before the late Brazilian novelist Clarice Lispector became a beloved literary figure there, she was Chaya, the third and last daughter born to a poor family in a Ukrainian shtetl. Her journey from Eastern Europe to South America and from indigent refugee child to celebrated, eccentric author—with a stint along the way as a diplomat’s wife—is the focus of Benjamin Moser’s new book Why This World: A Biography of Clarice Lispector. Moser, the New Books columnist for Harper’s Magazine, spoke to Vox Tablet host Sara Ivry about Lispector’s enduring rage at God over her mother’s death, her fascination with mysticism, math, and Spinoza, and the various myths—that Lispector was a man, for one—that emerged about her and that the writer did little to dispel.

]]>http://www.tabletmag.com/podcasts/18829/woman-of-mystery/feed3Long before the late Brazilian novelist Clarice Lispector became a beloved literary figure there, she was Chaya, the third and last daughter born to a poor family in a Ukrainian shtetl. Her journey from Eastern Europe to South America and from indigent refugee child to celebrated, eccentric author—with a stint along the way as a diplomat’s wife—is the focus of Benjamin Moser’s new book Why This World: A Biography of Clarice Lispector. Moser, the New Books columnist for Harper’s Magazine, spoke to Vox Tablet host Sara Ivry about Lispector’s enduring rage at God over her mother’s death, her fascination with mysticism, math, and Spinoza, and the various myths—that Lispector was a man, for one—that emerged about her and that the writer did little to dispel.
Related: Dizzy With Life [Tablet]
Benjamin Moser will be in conversation with Tablet Magazine’s Gabriel Sanders at New York’s Museum of Jewish Heritage on November 8.
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<p>Long before the late Brazilian novelist Clarice Lispector became a beloved literary figure there, she was Chaya, the third and last daughter born to a poor family in a Ukrainian shtetl. Her journey from Eastern Europe to South America and [...]Race Relationshttp://www.tabletmag.com/podcasts/18422/race-relations
http://www.tabletmag.com/podcasts/18422/race-relations#commentsThu, 22 Oct 2009 04:01:38 +0000http://www.tabletmag.com/?p=18422In Moses and Monotheism, Freud advanced his theory of what makes Jews Jewish and how they managed to survive thousands of years of anti-Semitic persecution: he believed that certain events were so traumatic that their memories were inherited by successive generations. As Eliza Slavet argues in her new book, Racial Fever: Freud and the Jewish […]

]]>In Moses and Monotheism, Freud advanced his theory of what makes Jews Jewish and how they managed to survive thousands of years of anti-Semitic persecution: he believed that certain events were so traumatic that their memories were inherited by successive generations. As Eliza Slavet argues in her new book, Racial Fever: Freud and the Jewish Question, this “racial theory of memory,” though bizarre, remains relevant to our understanding of the Jewish people. Slavet spoke to Vox Tablet host Sara Ivry about the famous shrink, identity, and the continuity of Jewishness.

]]>http://www.tabletmag.com/podcasts/18422/race-relations/feed1In Moses and Monotheism, Freud advanced his theory of what makes Jews Jewish and how they managed to survive thousands of years of anti-Semitic persecution: he believed that certain events were so traumatic that their memories were inherited by successive generations. As Eliza Slavet argues in her new book, Racial Fever: Freud and the Jewish Question, this “racial theory of memory,” though bizarre, remains relevant to our understanding of the Jewish people. Slavet spoke to Vox Tablet host Sara Ivry about the famous shrink, identity, and the continuity of Jewishness.
Your browser does not support the audio element.
<p>In Moses and Monotheism, Freud advanced his theory of what makes Jews Jewish and how they managed to survive thousands of years of anti-Semitic persecution: he believed that certain events were so traumatic that their memories were [...]Her Body, Her Selfhttp://www.tabletmag.com/podcasts/12478/her-body-her-self-2
http://www.tabletmag.com/podcasts/12478/her-body-her-self-2#commentsWed, 21 Oct 2009 01:00:48 +0000http://www.tabletmag.com/?p=12478Joy Ladin is a poet and a professor of English at Yeshiva University’s Stern College for Women. For most of her life, though, she was a man named Jay, and her biological sex was a source of deep unhappiness. And so three years ago, Jay decided to start the process of becoming a woman. His marriage fell apart, and he worried about how the world would receive him after he became a woman.

]]>Joy Ladin is a poet and a professor of English at Yeshiva University’s Stern College for Women. For most of her life, though, she was a man named Jay, and her biological sex was a source of deep unhappiness. And so three years ago, Jay decided to start the process of becoming a woman. His marriage fell apart, and he worried about how the world would receive him after he became a woman. In this podcast from our archives, Joy Ladin spoke with Vox Tablet host Sara Ivry about her decision to transition genders, her relationship to God, and the reaction from her Orthodox students.

Joy Ladin’s third book of poetry, Transmigration, was published last month by Sheep Meadow Press.

]]>http://www.tabletmag.com/podcasts/12478/her-body-her-self-2/feed5Joy Ladin is a poet and a professor of English at Yeshiva University’s Stern College for Women. For most of her life, though, she was a man named Jay, and her biological sex was a source of deep unhappiness. And so three years ago, Jay decided to start the process of becoming a woman. His marriage fell apart, and he worried about how the world would receive him after he became a woman. In this podcast from our archives, Joy Ladin spoke with Vox Tablet host Sara Ivry about her decision to transition genders, her relationship to God, and the reaction from her Orthodox students.
Joy Ladin’s third book of poetry, Transmigration, was published last month by Sheep Meadow Press.
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<p>Joy Ladin is a poet and a professor of English at Yeshiva University’s Stern College for Women. For most of her life, though, she was a man named Jay, and her biological sex was a source of deep unhappiness. And so three years ago, Jay [...]Facing the Musichttp://www.tabletmag.com/podcasts/17968/facing-the-music
http://www.tabletmag.com/podcasts/17968/facing-the-music#commentsMon, 12 Oct 2009 11:00:06 +0000http://www.tabletmag.com/?p=17968It’s astonishing how many hits from the American songbook—the corpus of music written from the 1920s to the 1960s that includes Broadway hits, Tin Pan Alley tunes, and Hollywood musicals—were written by Jews. These Jewish composers and lyricists included heavy hitters like Irving Berlin, Rodgers and Hammerstein, and the Gershwins, plus perhaps lesser known figures […]

]]>It’s astonishing how many hits from the American songbook—the corpus of music written from the 1920s to the 1960s that includes Broadway hits, Tin Pan Alley tunes, and Hollywood musicals—were written by Jews. These Jewish composers and lyricists included heavy hitters like Irving Berlin, Rodgers and Hammerstein, and the Gershwins, plus perhaps lesser known figures like Harold Arlen and Dorothy Fields. Writer and poet David Lehman explores this connection in his new Nextbook Press book, A Fine Romance: Jewish Songwriters, American Songs. Vox Tablet host Sara Ivry talks to him about the book, the songs, and the Jewish themes buried in some of the best-known classics.

]]>http://www.tabletmag.com/podcasts/17968/facing-the-music/feed2It’s astonishing how many hits from the American songbook—the corpus of music written from the 1920s to the 1960s that includes Broadway hits, Tin Pan Alley tunes, and Hollywood musicals—were written by Jews. These Jewish composers and lyricists included heavy hitters like Irving Berlin, Rodgers and Hammerstein, and the Gershwins, plus perhaps lesser known figures like Harold Arlen and Dorothy Fields. Writer and poet David Lehman explores this connection in his new Nextbook Press book, A Fine Romance: Jewish Songwriters, American Songs. Vox Tablet host Sara Ivry talks to him about the book, the songs, and the Jewish themes buried in some of the best-known classics.
Related: Lehman serves up an American songbook playlist
A Fine Romance
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<p>It’s astonishing how many hits from the American songbook—the corpus of music written from the 1920s to the 1960s that includes Broadway hits, Tin Pan Alley tunes, and Hollywood musicals—were written by Jews. These Jewish composers [...]Sub-Saharan Shabbathttp://www.tabletmag.com/podcasts/17392/sub-saharan-shabbat
http://www.tabletmag.com/podcasts/17392/sub-saharan-shabbat#commentsMon, 05 Oct 2009 11:00:37 +0000http://www.tabletmag.com/?p=17392In 1974, prompted by the vision of an itinerant preacher, Joseph Armah and several other members of the Sefwi tribe in western Ghana declared themselves the descendants of one of the lost tribes of Israel. This wasn’t as arbitrary as it sounds; for centuries, though unfamiliar with Judaism, the tribe had followed Jewish practices, performing […]

]]>In 1974, prompted by the vision of an itinerant preacher, Joseph Armah and several other members of the Sefwi tribe in western Ghana declared themselves the descendants of one of the lost tribes of Israel. This wasn’t as arbitrary as it sounds; for centuries, though unfamiliar with Judaism, the tribe had followed Jewish practices, performing circumcision a week after an infant’s birth, observing Shabbat, and excluding pork from their diet.

Their conversion raises interesting, if familiar, questions about who can legitimately call himself a Jew. But for Armah’s children, those questions don’t really matter. They are among the first generation of Ghanaians to be raised Jewish, and as such they must navigate for themselves what that means on a daily basis. Anna Boiko-Weyrauch spent a weekend with the Armah family, and sent us this dispatch.

]]>http://www.tabletmag.com/podcasts/17392/sub-saharan-shabbat/feed2In 1974, prompted by the vision of an itinerant preacher, Joseph Armah and several other members of the Sefwi tribe in western Ghana declared themselves the descendants of one of the lost tribes of Israel. This wasn’t as arbitrary as it sounds; for centuries, though unfamiliar with Judaism, the tribe had followed Jewish practices, performing circumcision a week after an infant’s birth, observing Shabbat, and excluding pork from their diet.
Their conversion raises interesting, if familiar, questions about who can legitimately call himself a Jew. But for Armah’s children, those questions don’t really matter. They are among the first generation of Ghanaians to be raised Jewish, and as such they must navigate for themselves what that means on a daily basis. Anna Boiko-Weyrauch spent a weekend with the Armah family, and sent us this dispatch.
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<p>In 1974, prompted by the vision of an itinerant preacher, Joseph Armah and several other members of the Sefwi tribe in western Ghana declared themselves the descendants of one of the lost tribes of Israel. This wasn’t as arbitrary as it [...]A Frank Readerhttp://www.tabletmag.com/podcasts/16980/a-frank-reader
http://www.tabletmag.com/podcasts/16980/a-frank-reader#commentsTue, 29 Sep 2009 11:00:50 +0000http://www.tabletmag.com/?p=16980In Reading Like a Writer, Francine Prose advised aspiring writers that the best way to hone their craft is to read works of great literature closely, word by word. In her new book, Anne Frank: The Book, The Life, The Afterlife, Prose applies that method to the famous young diarist’s work. By Prose’s measure, Frank’s […]

]]>In Reading Like a Writer, Francine Prose advised aspiring writers that the best way to hone their craft is to read works of great literature closely, word by word. In her new book, Anne Frank: The Book, The Life, The Afterlife, Prose applies that method to the famous young diarist’s work. By Prose’s measure, Frank’s diary has achieved its success not only because of what it documents but also because of her remarkable skill as a writer.

What Prose begins as a literary investigation expands to encompass the history of the diary and its author, as well as its many reincarnations as a musical, a film, a brand, and an inspiration for human rights organizations and classroom curricula. Prose spoke to Vox Tablet host Sara Ivry about the diary and its impact.

]]>http://www.tabletmag.com/podcasts/16980/a-frank-reader/feed6In Reading Like a Writer, Francine Prose advised aspiring writers that the best way to hone their craft is to read works of great literature closely, word by word. In her new book, Anne Frank: The Book, The Life, The Afterlife, Prose applies that method to the famous young diarist’s work. By Prose’s measure, Frank’s diary has achieved its success not only because of what it documents but also because of her remarkable skill as a writer.
What Prose begins as a literary investigation expands to encompass the history of the diary and its author, as well as its many reincarnations as a musical, a film, a brand, and an inspiration for human rights organizations and classroom curricula. Prose spoke to Vox Tablet host Sara Ivry about the diary and its impact.
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<p>In Reading Like a Writer, Francine Prose advised aspiring writers that the best way to hone their craft is to read works of great literature closely, word by word. In her new book, Anne Frank: The Book, The Life, The Afterlife, Prose [...]Full Immersionhttp://www.tabletmag.com/podcasts/16486/full-immersion
http://www.tabletmag.com/podcasts/16486/full-immersion#respondTue, 22 Sep 2009 11:00:40 +0000http://www.tabletmag.com/?p=16486It’s not easy to convert to Judaism. Typically, the process involves up to a year of study with a rabbi, culminating in an appearance before a beit din, or rabbinic court, and, finally, immersion in the mikveh, or ritual bath. The writer C.A. Blomquist has wanted to convert to Judaism for most of her life, […]

]]>It’s not easy to convert to Judaism. Typically, the process involves up to a year of study with a rabbi, culminating in an appearance before a beit din, or rabbinic court, and, finally, immersion in the mikveh, or ritual bath.

The writer C.A. Blomquist has wanted to convert to Judaism for most of her life, but, as she wrote about on Tablet last week, it took some major mid-life changes for her to realize the step was possible. Finally, in her early fifties and after two years of study, she was ready to take the last step. Vox Tablet followed her to the mikveh. Here is her story.

This is the second in a three-part series by C.A. Blomquist on her conversion. The first installment was “Taking the Plunge.”

]]>http://www.tabletmag.com/podcasts/16486/full-immersion/feed0It’s not easy to convert to Judaism. Typically, the process involves up to a year of study with a rabbi, culminating in an appearance before a beit din, or rabbinic court, and, finally, immersion in the mikveh, or ritual bath.
The writer C.A. Blomquist has wanted to convert to Judaism for most of her life, but, as she wrote about on Tablet last week, it took some major mid-life changes for her to realize the step was possible. Finally, in her early fifties and after two years of study, she was ready to take the last step. Vox Tablet followed her to the mikveh. Here is her story.
This is the second in a three-part series by C.A. Blomquist on her conversion. The first installment was “Taking the Plunge.”
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<p>It’s not easy to convert to Judaism. Typically, the process involves up to a year of study with a rabbi, culminating in an appearance before a beit din, or rabbinic court, and, finally, immersion in the mikveh, or ritual bath. The writer [...]Let Justice Roll Downhttp://www.tabletmag.com/podcasts/16141/let-justice-roll-down
http://www.tabletmag.com/podcasts/16141/let-justice-roll-down#commentsFri, 18 Sep 2009 11:00:04 +0000http://www.tabletmag.com/?p=16141Every new year, Jews are told to seek forgiveness for the “sins we have sinned.” It sounds fairly straight forward, but it’s not, especially for people who are prone to over-thinking. On what basis should we judge our behavior and those sins? The Bible? An internal moral compass? And how broad should our self-examination be? […]

]]>Every new year, Jews are told to seek forgiveness for the “sins we have sinned.” It sounds fairly straight forward, but it’s not, especially for people who are prone to over-thinking. On what basis should we judge our behavior and those sins? The Bible? An internal moral compass? And how broad should our self-examination be? Are we looking only at how we treat our parents, or should we also consider our neighbors, our community, our fellow citizens, or perhaps all living beings?

Michael Sandel cannot answer those questions. He’s neither a rabbi nor a scholar of Jewish thought (at least, not by profession); he’s a professor of government at Harvard. He is, however, very good at explaining ways of thinking about right and wrong, as the many thousands of undergraduates who have taken his course on justice can attest. He spoke with Vox Tablet host Sara Ivry about health care, Wall Street bonuses, and other collisions of politics and ethics.

]]>http://www.tabletmag.com/podcasts/16141/let-justice-roll-down/feed2Every new year, Jews are told to seek forgiveness for the “sins we have sinned.” It sounds fairly straight forward, but it’s not, especially for people who are prone to over-thinking. On what basis should we judge our behavior and those sins? The Bible? An internal moral compass? And how broad should our self-examination be? Are we looking only at how we treat our parents, or should we also consider our neighbors, our community, our fellow citizens, or perhaps all living beings?
Michael Sandel cannot answer those questions. He’s neither a rabbi nor a scholar of Jewish thought (at least, not by profession); he’s a professor of government at Harvard. He is, however, very good at explaining ways of thinking about right and wrong, as the many thousands of undergraduates who have taken his course on justice can attest. He spoke with Vox Tablet host Sara Ivry about health care, Wall Street bonuses, and other collisions of politics and ethics.
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<p>Every new year, Jews are told to seek forgiveness for the “sins we have sinned.” It sounds fairly straight forward, but it’s not, especially for people who are prone to over-thinking. On what basis should we judge our behavior and [...]Blow, Gabriel, Blowhttp://www.tabletmag.com/podcasts/15616/blow-gabriel-blow
http://www.tabletmag.com/podcasts/15616/blow-gabriel-blow#commentsMon, 14 Sep 2009 11:00:46 +0000http://www.tabletmag.com/?p=15616Elul, the last month of the year on the Hebrew calendar, is often regarded as a time to prepare for the rigorous self-reflection that takes place on Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur. Throughout the month, the shofar, or ram’s horn, is sounded to induce an appropriately wakeful frame of mind. And so, in order to get into the spirit of the High Holidays, Tablet Magazine’s Gabriel Sanders met up with an old family friend: lung specialist, Judaica collector, and expert shofar-blower Ira Rezak. The two discussed the shofar’s ritual significance, and then they settled in for a lesson in the difficult business of getting a shofar to sound the way it should.

]]>Elul, the last month of the year on the Hebrew calendar, is often regarded as a time to prepare for the rigorous self-reflection that takes place on Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur. Throughout the month, the shofar, or ram’s horn, is sounded to induce an appropriately wakeful frame of mind. And so, in order to get into the spirit of the High Holidays, Tablet Magazine’s Gabriel Sanders met up with an old family friend: lung specialist, Judaica collector, and expert shofar-blower Ira Rezak. The two discussed the shofar’s ritual significance, and then they settled in for a lesson in the difficult business of getting a shofar to sound the way it should.

]]>http://www.tabletmag.com/podcasts/15616/blow-gabriel-blow/feed1Elul, the last month of the year on the Hebrew calendar, is often regarded as a time to prepare for the rigorous self-reflection that takes place on Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur. Throughout the month, the shofar, or ram’s horn, is sounded to induce an appropriately wakeful frame of mind. And so, in order to get into the spirit of the High Holidays, Tablet Magazine’s Gabriel Sanders met up with an old family friend: lung specialist, Judaica collector, and expert shofar-blower Ira Rezak. The two discussed the shofar’s ritual significance, and then they settled in for a lesson in the difficult business of getting a shofar to sound the way it should.
<p>Elul, the last month of the year on the Hebrew calendar, is often regarded as a time to prepare for the rigorous self-reflection that takes place on Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur. Throughout the month, the shofar, or ram’s horn, is [...]Inside Playerhttp://www.tabletmag.com/podcasts/15760/inside-player-2
http://www.tabletmag.com/podcasts/15760/inside-player-2#commentsWed, 09 Sep 2009 10:59:55 +0000http://www.tabletmag.com/?p=15760Israeli-born musician Oran Etkin fell in love with jazz at age 10, when his parents gave him his first CD—a Louis Armstrong record. Later, he would fall in love with the clarinet, then with the polyrhythms of Malian music, and, later still, with the plaintive sounds of klezmer. In his new album Kelenia, a collaboration […]

]]>Israeli-born musician Oran Etkin fell in love with jazz at age 10, when his parents gave him his first CD—a Louis Armstrong record. Later, he would fall in love with the clarinet, then with the polyrhythms of Malian music, and, later still, with the plaintive sounds of klezmer. In his new album Kelenia, a collaboration with three West African musicians, he combines all these elements to exhilarating effect. All Music Guide credits him with “set[ting] a new standard for world music.”

Vox Tablet host Sara Ivry interviews Etkin at the Brooklyn Conservatory of Music, where he teaches, about his unusual musical trajectory. For information on his upcoming performances, go here.

]]>http://www.tabletmag.com/podcasts/15760/inside-player-2/feed3Israeli-born musician Oran Etkin fell in love with jazz at age 10, when his parents gave him his first CD—a Louis Armstrong record. Later, he would fall in love with the clarinet, then with the polyrhythms of Malian music, and, later still, with the plaintive sounds of klezmer. In his new album Kelenia, a collaboration with three West African musicians, he combines all these elements to exhilarating effect. All Music Guide credits him with “set[ting] a new standard for world music.”
Vox Tablet host Sara Ivry interviews Etkin at the Brooklyn Conservatory of Music, where he teaches, about his unusual musical trajectory. For information on his upcoming performances, go here.
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<p>Israeli-born musician Oran Etkin fell in love with jazz at age 10, when his parents gave him his first CD—a Louis Armstrong record. Later, he would fall in love with the clarinet, then with the polyrhythms of Malian music, and, later [...]Holy Waterhttp://www.tabletmag.com/podcasts/14385/holy-water
http://www.tabletmag.com/podcasts/14385/holy-water#commentsMon, 31 Aug 2009 11:00:25 +0000http://www.tabletmag.com/?p=14385According to Jewish law, women are considered impure during their monthly period and are not allowed to have sexual relations or even casually touch their husbands until seven “clean” days have passed and they have immersed in the mikveh, or ritual bath. For Orthodox women, going to the mikveh is a fact of life from the time of their marriage until menopause. But as Varda Polak-Sahm discovered while researching her new book, The House of Secrets: The Hidden World of the Mikveh (translated from the Hebrew by Anne Hartstein Pace), in Israel, many secular women also choose to use the mikveh. Polak-Sahm spoke to Vox Tablet host Sara Ivry from her home in Jerusalem about the power of the mikveh for both the observant and the secular, the women-only rituals that take place within the mikveh’s walls, and her own vastly different immersion experiences before her first and second weddings.

]]>According to Jewish law, women are considered impure during their monthly period and are not allowed to have sexual relations or even casually touch their husbands until seven “clean” days have passed and they have immersed in the mikveh, or ritual bath. For Orthodox women, going to the mikveh is a fact of life from the time of their marriage until menopause. But as Varda Polak-Sahm discovered while researching her new book, The House of Secrets: The Hidden World of the Mikveh (translated from the Hebrew by Anne Hartstein Pace), in Israel, many secular women also choose to use the mikveh. Polak-Sahm spoke to Vox Tablet host Sara Ivry from her home in Jerusalem about the power of the mikveh for both the observant and the secular, the women-only rituals that take place within the mikveh’s walls, and her own vastly different immersion experiences before her first and second weddings.

]]>http://www.tabletmag.com/podcasts/14385/holy-water/feed1According to Jewish law, women are considered impure during their monthly period and are not allowed to have sexual relations or even casually touch their husbands until seven “clean” days have passed and they have immersed in the mikveh, or ritual bath. For Orthodox women, going to the mikveh is a fact of life from the time of their marriage until menopause. But as Varda Polak-Sahm discovered while researching her new book, The House of Secrets: The Hidden World of the Mikveh (translated from the Hebrew by Anne Hartstein Pace), in Israel, many secular women also choose to use the mikveh. Polak-Sahm spoke to Vox Tablet host Sara Ivry from her home in Jerusalem about the power of the mikveh for both the observant and the secular, the women-only rituals that take place within the mikveh’s walls, and her own vastly different immersion experiences before her first and second weddings.
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<p>According to Jewish law, women are considered impure during their monthly period and are not allowed to have sexual relations or even casually touch their husbands until seven “clean” days have passed and they have immersed in the [...]End of an Erahttp://www.tabletmag.com/podcasts/13879/end-of-an-era
http://www.tabletmag.com/podcasts/13879/end-of-an-era#commentsMon, 24 Aug 2009 11:00:21 +0000http://www.tabletmag.com/?p=13879Historian David Cesarani combed through newly released archival materials from Mandatory Palestine to uncover the role Roy Farran, a 26-year-old Special Air Service major, played in the abduction and death of a 16-year-old Jewish boy from Jerusalem, an event that further strengthened resolve for the establishment of Israel. Cesarani spoke to Vox Tablet host Sara Ivry from his home in London about Major Farran’s Hat: The Untold Story of the Struggle to Establish the Jewish State, his new history of the period.

]]>In 1947, British-ruled Palestine faced mounting tensions: vast numbers of displaced European Jews hoped to immigrate, Arabs feared losing their land and majority status, and Jewish insurgent groups were fighting for the establishment of Israel. Britain reacted with often inept anti-terrorism squads. Historian David Cesarani combed through newly released archival materials from that period to uncover the role Roy Farran, a 26-year-old Special Air Service major, played in the abduction and death of a 16-year-old Jewish boy from Jerusalem, an event that further strengthened resolve for the establishment of Israel. Cesarani spoke to Vox Tablet host Sara Ivry from his home in London about Major Farran’s Hat: The Untold Story of the Struggle to Establish the Jewish State, his new history of the period.

]]>http://www.tabletmag.com/podcasts/13879/end-of-an-era/feed3In 1947, British-ruled Palestine faced mounting tensions: vast numbers of displaced European Jews hoped to immigrate, Arabs feared losing their land and majority status, and Jewish insurgent groups were fighting for the establishment of Israel. Britain reacted with often inept anti-terrorism squads. Historian David Cesarani combed through newly released archival materials from that period to uncover the role Roy Farran, a 26-year-old Special Air Service major, played in the abduction and death of a 16-year-old Jewish boy from Jerusalem, an event that further strengthened resolve for the establishment of Israel. Cesarani spoke to Vox Tablet host Sara Ivry from his home in London about Major Farran’s Hat: The Untold Story of the Struggle to Establish the Jewish State, his new history of the period.
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<p>Historian David Cesarani combed through newly released archival materials from Mandatory Palestine to uncover the role Roy Farran, a 26-year-old Special Air Service major, played in the abduction and death of a 16-year-old Jewish boy from [...]Holy Rollershttp://www.tabletmag.com/podcasts/12925/holy-rollers
http://www.tabletmag.com/podcasts/12925/holy-rollers#commentsMon, 10 Aug 2009 11:00:46 +0000http://www.tabletmag.com/?p=12925You can count on one hand, if not one finger, the number of openly devout Jewish musicians who have attracted a sizeable secular following in the United States. There’s Matisyahu, and there’s … ? In Israel, though, the pop music landscape looks very different. Many of the most popular singers there today are deeply religious, […]

]]>You can count on one hand, if not one finger, the number of openly devout Jewish musicians who have attracted a sizeable secular following in the United States. There’s Matisyahu, and there’s … ? In Israel, though, the pop music landscape looks very different. Many of the most popular singers there today are deeply religious, and they explore their faith through music. In this week’s Vox Tablet podcast, Tablet Magazine’s Liel Leibovitz, a ninth-generation Israeli, explains that they’re popular neither because of their religiosity nor in spite of it. Here’s the playlist: 1. Shuli Rand, “Mohin Dektanot,” from the album Good Point 2. Shuli Rand, “Ma Hatachlit,” from the album Good Point 3. Eviatar Banai, “Av Harachman,” from the album Night Will Shine as Day 4. Berry Sakharof, “Shochney Batey Chomer,” from the album Adumey Hasfatot 5. Berry Sakharof, “Melitsati Bideagati Hadufa,” from the album Adumey Hasfatot

]]>http://www.tabletmag.com/podcasts/12925/holy-rollers/feed4You can count on one hand, if not one finger, the number of openly devout Jewish musicians who have attracted a sizeable secular following in the United States. There’s Matisyahu, and there’s … ? In Israel, though, the pop music landscape looks very different. Many of the most popular singers there today are deeply religious, and they explore their faith through music. In this week’s Vox Tablet podcast, Tablet Magazine’s Liel Leibovitz, a ninth-generation Israeli, explains that they’re popular neither because of their religiosity nor in spite of it. Here’s the playlist: 1. Shuli Rand, “Mohin Dektanot,” from the album Good Point 2. Shuli Rand, “Ma Hatachlit,” from the album Good Point 3. Eviatar Banai, “Av Harachman,” from the album Night Will Shine as Day 4. Berry Sakharof, “Shochney Batey Chomer,” from the album Adumey Hasfatot 5. Berry Sakharof, “Melitsati Bideagati Hadufa,” from the album Adumey Hasfatot
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<p>You can count on one hand, if not one finger, the number of openly devout Jewish musicians who have attracted a sizeable secular following in the United States. There’s Matisyahu, and there’s … ? In Israel, though, the pop music [...]A Bronx Talehttp://www.tabletmag.com/podcasts/12062/a-bronx-tale
http://www.tabletmag.com/podcasts/12062/a-bronx-tale#commentsMon, 03 Aug 2009 11:00:37 +0000http://www.tabletmag.com/?p=12062The Grand Concourse, a major thoroughfare in the Bronx loosely modeled after the Champs Elysee, turns 100 this year. Back in the 1920s and 30s, the Concourse was considered among the best addresses to have, particularly if you were an upwardly mobile Jew. Several decades later, though, things changed radically; the Bronx became an emblem of urban decay and violence. In Boulevard of Dreams: Heady Times, Heartbreak, and Hope Along the Grand Concourse in the Bronx, out later this month from NYU Press, Constance Rosenblum traces the rise and fall and rise again of this historic artery. She speaks with Vox Tablet host Sara Ivry about the art deco monuments that characterized the Grand Concourse, Jews’ affinity for apartment living, and the forces that contributed to its mid-century decline.

]]> The Grand Concourse, a major thoroughfare in the Bronx loosely modeled after the Champs Elysee, turns 100 this year. Back in the 1920s and 30s, the Concourse was considered among the best addresses to have, particularly if you were an upwardly mobile Jew. Several decades later, though, things changed radically; the Bronx became an emblem of urban decay and violence. In Boulevard of Dreams: Heady Times, Heartbreak, and Hope Along the Grand Concourse in the Bronx, out later this month from NYU Press, Constance Rosenblum traces the rise and fall and rise again of this historic artery. She speaks with Vox Tablet host Sara Ivry about the art deco monuments that characterized the Grand Concourse, Jews’ affinity for apartment living, and the forces that contributed to its mid-century decline.

The exterior of Loew’s Paradise. Photo: Theatre Historical Society of America.The Lorelei fountain in the 1970s, covered in grafitti. Photo: New York Times.

]]>http://www.tabletmag.com/podcasts/12062/a-bronx-tale/feed1 The Grand Concourse, a major thoroughfare in the Bronx loosely modeled after the Champs Elysee, turns 100 this year. Back in the 1920s and 30s, the Concourse was considered among the best addresses to have, particularly if you were an upwardly mobile Jew. Several decades later, though, things changed radically; the Bronx became an emblem of urban decay and violence. In Boulevard of Dreams: Heady Times, Heartbreak, and Hope Along the Grand Concourse in the Bronx, out later this month from NYU Press, Constance Rosenblum traces the rise and fall and rise again of this historic artery. She speaks with Vox Tablet host Sara Ivry about the art deco monuments that characterized the Grand Concourse, Jews’ affinity for apartment living, and the forces that contributed to its mid-century decline.
The exterior of Loew’s Paradise. Photo: Theatre Historical Society of America. The Lorelei fountain in the 1970s, covered in grafitti. Photo: New York Times.
The lobby of the Fish Building. Photo: Carl Rosenstein.
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<p>The Grand Concourse, a major thoroughfare in the Bronx loosely modeled after the Champs Elysee, turns 100 this year. Back in the 1920s and 30s, the Concourse was considered among the best addresses to have, particularly if you were an [...]Mob Scenehttp://www.tabletmag.com/podcasts/6760/mob-scene
http://www.tabletmag.com/podcasts/6760/mob-scene#commentsMon, 27 Jul 2009 11:00:16 +0000http://www.tabletmag.com/?p=6760Forty years ago, poor, crime-ridden Israeli neighborhoods were often ruled by a local mobster. It was a Godfather-style situation: the bosses were feared, but they were also respected as protectors for those who played by their rules. But today’s Israeli mafia is something quite different, younger, greedier, more ambitious, and far more reckless. In 2006, Tablet contributing editor Douglas Century visited Hatikva, a neighborhood in south Tel Aviv that spawned some of the more deadly modern mafiosi. Accompanied by Ilan Benshoshan, who grew up there, Century met gangsters, drug dealers, pimps, and a frightened populace trying to steer clear of the violence. Vox Tablet’s Sara Ivry spoke to the pair for a street-level view of today’s Israeli mob.

]]>Forty years ago, poor, crime-ridden Israeli neighborhoods were often ruled by a local mobster. It was a Godfather-style situation: the bosses were feared, but they were also respected as protectors for those who played by their rules. But today’s Israeli mafia is something quite different, younger, greedier, more ambitious, and far more reckless. In 2006, Tablet contributing editor Douglas Century visited Hatikva, a neighborhood in south Tel Aviv that spawned some of the more deadly modern mafiosi. Accompanied by Ilan Benshoshan, who grew up there, Century met gangsters, drug dealers, pimps, and a frightened populace trying to steer clear of the violence. Vox Tablet’s Sara Ivry spoke to the pair for a street-level view of today’s Israeli mob.

]]>http://www.tabletmag.com/podcasts/6760/mob-scene/feed1Forty years ago, poor, crime-ridden Israeli neighborhoods were often ruled by a local mobster. It was a Godfather-style situation: the bosses were feared, but they were also respected as protectors for those who played by their rules. But today’s Israeli mafia is something quite different, younger, greedier, more ambitious, and far more reckless. In 2006, Tablet contributing editor Douglas Century visited Hatikva, a neighborhood in south Tel Aviv that spawned some of the more deadly modern mafiosi. Accompanied by Ilan Benshoshan, who grew up there, Century met gangsters, drug dealers, pimps, and a frightened populace trying to steer clear of the violence. Vox Tablet’s Sara Ivry spoke to the pair for a street-level view of today’s Israeli mob.
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<p>Forty years ago, poor, crime-ridden Israeli neighborhoods were often ruled by a local mobster. It was a Godfather-style situation: the bosses were feared, but they were also respected as protectors for those who played by their rules. But [...]15:42Israel, mafia, Barney Ross, Doug CenturyUnder a Tuscan Sunhttp://www.tabletmag.com/podcasts/10497/under-a-tuscan-sun
http://www.tabletmag.com/podcasts/10497/under-a-tuscan-sun#respondMon, 20 Jul 2009 12:09:12 +0000http://www.tabletmag.com/?p=10497Tomato Rhapsody, Adam Schell’s debut novel, is a romance set in 16th-century Tuscany. The story centers on the forbidden love between Davido, a Jewish tomato farmer, and Mari, a Catholic olive farmer. The cast of characters also includes a grand duke, a priest who has come under a strange spell, an evil stepfather, a village fool, and some serious chefs whose love of tomatoes, olives, and cheese knows no bounds. Adam Schell spoke with Vox Tablet host Sara Ivry about the inspiration for this Italian romp, his meeting with Harvey Keitel, and what he hopes to do with his earnings.

]]>Tomato Rhapsody, Adam Schell’s debut novel, is a romance set in 16th century Tuscany. It centers on the forbidden love between Davido, a Jewish tomato farmer, and Mari, a Catholic olive farmer, and also includes a grand duke, a priest who has come under a strange spell, an evil stepfather, a village fool, and some serious chefs in love with tomatoes, olives, and cheese. Vox Tablet host Sara Ivry spoke to Schell about the inspiration for this Italian romp, his meeting with Harvey Keitel, and what he hopes to do with his earnings.

]]>http://www.tabletmag.com/podcasts/10497/under-a-tuscan-sun/feed0Tomato Rhapsody, Adam Schell’s debut novel, is a romance set in 16th century Tuscany. It centers on the forbidden love between Davido, a Jewish tomato farmer, and Mari, a Catholic olive farmer, and also includes a grand duke, a priest who has come under a strange spell, an evil stepfather, a village fool, and some serious chefs in love with tomatoes, olives, and cheese. Vox Tablet host Sara Ivry spoke to Schell about the inspiration for this Italian romp, his meeting with Harvey Keitel, and what he hopes to do with his earnings.
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<p>Tomato Rhapsody, Adam Schell’s debut novel, is a romance set in 16th-century Tuscany. The story centers on the forbidden love between Davido, a Jewish tomato farmer, and Mari, a Catholic olive farmer. The cast of characters also includes [...]